Transmogrify
by Zimithrus1
Summary: The question asked had seemed rhetorical: "Do you want to live?" Of course he had agreed. "You will be my master and I will give you strength, but you will belong to me and only me in mind, body, and soul. Do you accept?" And just like that, Cloud Strife sold his soul to a Tasonosenshi with only a nod of his head. CxZ pair. Rated M to be safe :) Cover art by Secluded-Delusion!
1. Piolet

Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter one of Transmogrify! Darn plot bunnies, crowding my head up like how their cousins 'the dust bunnies' hide everywhere in my room! But I hope you all enjoy regardless!

2-6-16: I've gone through and made a few changes to the original work, realizing that I made tons of grammatical errors and cringe-worthy mistakes. The chapters will mainly be left alone, but with some different phrasing and elements :) Anyway, hope you all enjoy!

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~Piolet~

Cloud knew they were just feet behind him and chasing after him at lightning speed. Time seemed to crawl at a snail's pace while his heart was racing quicker than the speed of light. It was dark here. Running around at night tended to make it pitch black, especially on the night of the new moon. Only the stars in the sky served as tiny beacons of light to help illuminate his down-trodden path. Dour black clouds hung overhead and a light midnight's fog had whisked at the ground and air around him. Most of the mist clung to his heated skin to cool him down as he ran, but it still wasn't enough to stop the persistent sweating as he ran across the uneven terrain.

His worn out sneakers crunched the dry leaves below his feet as he quickly sprinted past dead trees with branches that looks more like skeletal limbs. They seemed to reach out to him as he ran, their rough edges scraping his arms and cheeks as he tore through them without restraint.

Without a need for sight, he automatically knew where he was; 'The Forest of Senshi'. This place was haunted by all things strange and evil known to man: Trolls, shapeshifters, Banshees, and any other kind of horrible creature you could think of was locked away in the center of the ever-decaying forest. A special seal around the edges allowed humans in and out, but it was highly frowned upon to enter. Each individual creature had its own seal within the forest in order to keep it bound to a certain spot in a certain form.

Rumors tell of the forest once being inhabited by the most beautiful trees and flowers in the whole country, but had become overrun with the monsters inside and turned into the nightmare it was today. Of course, that was a long time ago, something that only popped up in a history book or an old wives tale every once in a while.

Regardless of warning signs and decaying forest life, Cloud had entered anyway. Hopefully _they_ wouldn't be stupid enough to follow him in here. Even the most reckless of people stayed away from this cursed place. However, he was wrong about that. If anything, their footsteps crunching against the ground only seemed to grow quicker and faster than before. Those damned bastards! Why wouldn't they leave him alone?

He didn't know what he had done wrong this time. It had all started off as a typical Thursday morning at school, Hell, _any_ typical morning. While trying to get his stuff out of his locker, the local band of school misfits had slammed his books from his hands and down to the floor. As the blonde went to pick them up, his head was slammed into an adjacent locker beside him, more than once. This stupid band consisted of no more than three people, but they still managed to make Cloud's junior year of high school a living hell.

"Give up, blondie! You can't run forever!" One of the voices growled. There was a harsh pant following his shout. He was growing weary. Hopefully, the others were too.

Cloud kept a comeback to himself, trying to save all of his energy in fleeing, not insulting. He heard heavy wheezing all around him as well as the crunch of leaves beginning to slow. Were the others finally falling behind? Maybe they realized they were in this deadly forest and were going to slow down and turn around. But he was wrong when he realized _he_ was the one wheezing. _He_ was the one slowing down. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. He couldn't let them get to him!

Pushing his muscles to the max, he continued down into the depths of the forest, too afraid to turn around and see how close they were. He felt like a helpless mouse running from the king of all cats. If they caught him, he was going to be in a hospital for weeks! It's not as if they put him there before on multiple occasions anyways... The worst part of it all was he couldn't tell his mother about it. The band of misfits threatened to hurt his mom if he squealed to her. He hated all of this so much! If only he was stronger!

_'Strength...What you wish..._' A hazy voice echoed from a far off distance in front of him.

Oh great! Some nightcrawler had heard his plea. These creatures were masterminds at pulling innocent humans into their tight grasp by promising them wishes and power if they did the same for them: except the human offered a heftier price. He shook his head, trying to pour the last of his stamina and willpower to his legs. If he didn't concentrate, he was going to get it for sure! The front and back of his shirt was saturated in perspiration and a thin glaze of the salty substance trickled down his forehead and made the hairs on the back of his neck stick down.

"_I...Power..._' The voice rasped once more, sounding more determined to grab a hold of the blonde.

He should have expected this. The deeper into the forest you got, the more your presence would be sensed by the nightcrawlers in here. But this voice seemed powerful, as well as the deadly dark aura that little voice emitted. This must be a truly powerful monster to be able to throw his voice from deep inside, all the way to the near perimeter of the forest seal.

Lost in thoughts -and the voice of the nightcrawler- The blonde had failed to see a tangled root shooting up from the dying forest floor. His shoe had been snagged, and then gravity took care of the rest. He went flying for a few seconds, his frame suspended in the air for a brief moment. Gravity then took control once more and proceeded to send his body down to the ground. His body crashed into a slanted hill and began to tumble down it. He was thrown head over heels as the world was thrown into unbalanced circles. Which way was up? What about down?

He felt each scrape against his skin, heard each rip in the fabric of his clothes. Every jolt of pain to the head caused it numbness, as if it had fallen asleep like another limb. During the rough descent, his foot had twisted under his leg, resulting in him rolling the fragile joint. He would have cried out, but was unable to as he continued to skid down the cliff-side. After a few seconds of tumbling, sliding and vertigo, he finally skidded to a stop down on some flat ground. His head was pounding and his heart was slamming. Pain prickled like chills through his lithe frame and each minuscule movement caused the sensation to flare like an uncomfortable heat. No grass was down here, just red dirt and a small amount of mud from the mist surrounding the air. He must have fallen close to the center of the blighted forest.

"We've got him now!" A victorious voice howled. A crumbling of small rocks and pebbles told the blonde that they were making their way down to his level.

Cloud tried to move, tried to squirm away. However, the throbbing and stinging in his mangled ankle caused him to only hiss and curl his fingers into the dirt and mud. The world swam with little fireflies in his eyes, and spots of black threatened to pull him into a state of unconsciousness. Trying his best to look over at the scratches and wounds on his body, he noticed thick red blood bubbling from his arms and legs and the crimson substance had encased around his ankle and entrapped it in a sickly glory of red. How could he have been so careless?

_"I'm...Here...You see me?"_ The once hazy voice of a nightcrawler echoed again. This time, it's voice was nearly clear as day, but bits of static intercepted a few words.

Cloud looked up, to try and find that voice that sounded so powerful all of a sudden, but he was only looking into the faces of the four that were chasing him. A whimper of fear escaped from the blonde's hardly opened lips. Those tears that had swelled in his eyes once before had magnified and grew in size, resulting in them shimmering against the contrasting darkness of the moonless night sky. His eyes released the load they could no longer hold. This was it.

"About time you slipped up, Blondie." The youngest of the three growled deeply.

Even though he had been the youngest in age, he was certainly the biggest in size. He had walls of muscle stacked underneath his skin. He possessed cold blue eyes of his that displayed neither mercy nor compassion. That blue hair didn't help accentuate those evil eyes and only served to frame his thickly chiseled face, making it more stone cold. He stood tall, overshadowing the other two near him. Not only was his massive and rather hulking build of his body something to cower at, but he was also the strongest. His beatings were always the most painful to withstand. He was Azul; youngest of the reject band of bullies known as Deepground.

"You know, you really tired us out, Hon. I was surprised to see your cute lil' backside outrun us for a good minute or two." The only female of the group playfully cooed.

She stepped on his left cheek with her stupid bright red stilettos. God knows how she chased after him in those death traps. Her flaming red hair only seemed to brighten her eyes of equal hue, except those were brighter than her hair and seemed to glow eerily in this dark night. She had thick red lipstick painted across her thick lips, and her huge rack was nearly busting out of her top. She was Rosso of Deepground, stuck in the middle of age in the group.

Rosso shoved her thick heel deeper into the blonde's cheek, not letting up until she heard a small grunt of pain from the incapacitated boy beneath her. Cloud attempted to slink away military style. The two let him seem like he'd be able to get away, even allowed him to drag his useless body a few feet away with his hands alone, but soon found himself at the mercy of the eldest of the Deepground trio. Even though his battered body begged him to keep his head down, he did not and found himself staring at Weiss; Eldest of the Deepground group.

His thick white hair masked his eerily thin face like the color of pure wings against a darkening never-ending night. His eyes were so light of a blue they were nearly white. They glimmered in a hungry fashion to put the blonde through pain. He might not have been the tallest or strongest of the group, but when it came down to brass tacks, he was good at making the little blonde scream in agony more than Azul ever could.

"Going somewhere?" He quietly asked, his voice only a wisp against the night. Yet a sadistic smile became permanently engraved across his face.

Cloud lowered his head and nearly thought he could disappear into the dirt and mud if he concentrated hard enough. It was a pitiful -not to mention useless- attempt. Before he knew it, a booted foot connected to his jaw, sending his face looking up at the dark and clouded sky as all the air left his lungs from the pain. Another booted foot pushed against the back of his head, then slammed it into the dry dirt, cracking it in multiple places just from the pressure alone. The blonde had to bite his lip to keep from screaming out. This brought about a trickle of metallic tasting blood to enter his mouth from how hard he was biting his lip.

Rossa then nudged his body over to where Cloud was laying on his side. She had her fun kicking him in the gut with those damned heels of hers a few times. The blonde could never get a good grasp of oxygen with how fast and hard she kicked him. Every time he managed to gasp in a measly breath, she'd knock it right back out of him. Each kick of the plastic heel to his gut and chest stung like the burn from a hot match, or like a bee sting with the fire of revenge. No longer could he bite his lip to keep silent as his cries soon filled the decaying forest with agonizing life.

Azul then joined in on the fun, gripping the blonde by the collar of his shirt and hoisting him into the air like a helpless rag doll. Cloud was given a moment to stare pitifully into his captor's merciless eyes. A sick smile spread across his face before he threw him to the ground with enough force to make the ground shake beneath his small body. The blue-haired teen then followed up with a rough punch to his throat.

Cloud coughed and gagged harshly, his trachea screaming for air and his throat throbbing uncontrollably. He was left unable to even scream at this point. Tears cascaded down his cheeks, creating transparent rivers down his dirty face. His face started to turn an unhealthy shade of lavender as his body cried for the air it could not have. He weakly rolled onto his side, anchoring his shaking fingers into the ground to keep a grip on the world.

For the moment, the beatings stopped and only the stillness of the night greeted his sights and sounds. The silence was eerie and unwelcome as Cloud gasped and wheezed. The three bullies glanced to one another as they all locked together in all knowing eye contact. They each took a step or two back from the blonde, seeming as if they were going to let him go.

More desperate to get away than a rat caught in a cat's throat, the blonde seized the fake opportunity of escape, his fingers curling into the thick sloppy dirt as he started to pull himself through the mud. Blood trickled down his split lip from the force of him biting it. His gut and chest screamed with pain from the force of Rossa's shoe-weapons and Azul's roughhousing. The leaves crackled under his weight as he dragged himself through them. A small amount of mud gripped to the front of his shirt and pants, as if wanting away from the cursed place in which it took root.

When Cloud had managed to pull himself a good two feet away, the three bullies narrowed their eyes and smirked even more sadistically. One glance down and one glance up was all the communication the tormentors and the tormented needed.

Then all three of the Deepground group gang up on him, kicking and punching. Rossa spit in his eyes and Azul had plenty of fun just watching the blonde cry out in pain and writhe on the ground as he beat his stomach in senseless. Weiss just smiled as he kicked at the immobile blonde, laughing like a maniac on occasion.

The torture seemed to drag on for as long as it possibly could. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours. So by the time they stopped beating him to a pulp, it had felt like eons had passed. Blood streaked down his face, his arms, and every inch of unclothed skin upon his person. His right eye was beginning to swell and blacken, making his vision a bit hazy and off centered. It hurt to breathe, to even twitch or utter the smallest sound. Even the tiniest intake of air caused his whole body to burn, hurt, and sting. Even his tears were wounded as he cried red and swallowed blood rather than spit.

Every orifice seemed to leak blood rather than the fluids they were supposed to secrete. His nose, eyes, mouth, and even his ears oozed with bright red blood. He couldn't even hold his head up anymore. He just wanted release from the pain, wanted it all to go away. But that would never happen. Not with these three. He took in the best ragged breath he could manage, whimpering when even breathing felt more like a cut or a punch than a natural bodily function.

God knows what kind of internal damage they must have done to him this go round. This would definitely land him in the hospital for sure. What would his mother do when she heard he was hospitalized _again_?

"I had fun today, Hon. Get patched up soon so we can play again." Rossa sweetly cooed as she nudged his face with her bloodied heel.

The other two remained silent with words, but did snort or chuckle as they passed the blonde. They made their way back up the steep ledge the useless teenager had fell from fifteen minutes ago. Cloud watched as they left without a care or burden. Not even the mud touched them. Blood blurred his vision, painting the world in deep crimson. He blinked his good eye, trying to get the thick substance out of it in order to see. It was of no use as his world remained red.

He felt weak, weaker than usual when they beat him up. It was getting even harder to breathe than it already was. His body was beginning to feel cold and clammy, his fingers numb, and his head heavy and fuzzy. His only good eye widened in realization of his condition. Oh God...Was he dying? No, he couldn't be!

Cloud writhed on the ground as panic pounded in his heart. He was desperate to try and get up, but his body lacked any kind of strength. Each tiny movement or twitch against the ground made him cringe and whimper. He could cough some and whimper like a scolded dog a bit, but that was about all he could do. He was in so much pain that even blinking his eyelids caused something somewhere to sting and ache. His body was sore, as if he had sprinted through an entire marathon and a half. He was littered in blood and bruises, the stains painting him almost like tattoos or tribal marks.

He never knew you could get beaten to death by fists and feet alone. He was going to die. He was going to die in a forest of nightcrawlers. No one would come to find his body in here, not even during the day. People always stayed away from this place. The crawlers would find a way to break their seals and eat him alive! -Okay, slightly exaggerated- But he was going to die down here without a doubt.

With the last of his fleeting strength, he let out a mighty scream to the sky above him. Even as his voice began to give way, he kept screeching. He didn't want to die! Not like this! As much has he cried out, he received no reply but the echo of his own shouts. Even though most of the clouds above had dwindled away, there was still no moon in the sky. It was going to be a pitch black death for sure. Not even the small stars dotting the sky provided him with enough light.

'_...Over here...I'm...Here..._' The voice spoke up once more.

Cloud slowly rolled his head over to the right where the voice was coming from. It was very close, he could tell that much. He must be just a few yards away from whatever nightcrawler was calling to him. Or at least, where the crawler was sealed within. The blonde strained his ears to try and pinpoint the location of the quiet voice, but right now, all he could hear was his own wheezing.

'_...That's right...Over here...In front of..._' It spoke once more.

Cloud squinted his one good eye -for the other was too swollen to do so- Yet could not see any strange object which the nightcrawler might be sealed within. He was able to somehow roll his body over on his side as he dug his fingers into the ground to keep a grip on his world, which was beginning to fade into black. He wasn't about to make a deal with a devil or whatever this crawler happened to be, but the next sentence it spoke changed his mind completely.

_'Do you want to live?'_

At that once sentence, Cloud somehow found a hidden strength deep within, and he began to pull himself towards the origins of the voice. It hurt like hell, but he wasn't ready to die. He left a trail of his blood on the red dirt and decaying leaves as he pulled himself across the cracked and dry ground. The aura suddenly flared, and it was strong. Whatever this nightcrawler had to be, it was _powerful_. Somehow, as if he was hungry for that power alone, the blonde began to crawl even faster towards the source. No more than a few feet from him, hiding behind thick shrubs, there was the seal.

It was a massive rock of limestone, reaching at least six feet from the ground up. Everything around the rock was decayed -as if it had been dead for years now- and even the dirt lacked nutrients or moisture. It was like a patch of red desert in the middle of a forest. The land surrounding the rock was barren of any grass and was sheltered by withering trees that looked to have suffered a terrible fate in a brutal winter storm. It was a place frozen in time for eons.

_'Do you want to live?'_ The voice asked once more.

Of course the question seemed rhetorical to Cloud. He pulled himself closer to the pillar of limestone, nearly seeing his own reflection as he drew close. His replication was cloudy and blurry at best, but the blonde could clearly see crimson all over the outline of what was his body. The aura was so strong here it was as if gravity had increased by twice its usual perimeters. The dying seventeen-year-old could not hold his head or body up no longer. He flopped back to the ground without grace and whimpered when even falling back down caused him great pain.

_'If you accept...You will be my master and I will give you strength, give you power...But you will belong to me and to me alone in mind, body, and soul. While you can bend me to your will, I may do the same to you. Do you accept these charges for another chance at life?'_

Feeling numb, as if he had no control of his body, he found his head trying to nod out a 'yes' response, even if it was only his hair that swayed. His voice even croaked out some foreign agreement unrecognizable in his own mind. It was more like a grunt or a moan. He heard that voice chuckle lowly, and he knew there was no going back for what he had done. An urge in his body screamed _'What have you done?_' at him, but a small part of his heart had rejoiced at another chance to live, to see his mother and friends once more. To shock the holy hell out of Deepground.

_'Now break my seal.'_ The voice commanded.

Without hesitation or second thoughts, Cloud immediately pulled his hand up against the pressure of the higher density of gravity, fighting the downward pull that seemed like tons of magnets repelling one another. With a final cry, he slapped his bloody right hand against the limestone, dragging the limb down the stone weakly. Instantly, the pressure of enforced gravity left, and he felt lighter than he had before. A dark aura swelled from the limestone rock as cracks began to chip away at the once smooth stone. The aura swirling around the pillar and himself was black, maroon red, and dark purple, and it was ominous.

Loud pops and cracks resonated throughout the dying forest as the rock began to crumble. The trees around the seal further withered, losing what little life they had left as they crashed to the ground. Even the grass near the area had withered and turned to ash, blowing away with the mighty howling wind as the seal continued to break.

A cloud of white dust swirled with the mist in the air all around the blonde as the stone completely disintegrated into nothing. There was a tall figure standing from the depths of the rocky prison it had once been entombed in. As the dust faded away, the figure became more clear and focused, minus the blonde's swelling right eye and the trace amounts of blood in the other. At the sight of the nightcrawler, Cloud's breath managed to hitch in his chest.

He was tall, standing at about six-foot-three with rippling muscles bulging under his skin. They were not as big as Azul's, but still looked just as terrifying. He had hair of midnight's black styled in disheveled looking spikes in the back with a single strand hanging in the front. His eyes were of cerulean azures, tinted the slightest bit of sky blue around his cat-slit dilated pupils. He was clothed in nothing more than a black turtleneck tank top that cut off just a few inches above his waist. Under the tattered looking shirt lay old looking bandages that served no purpose other than as clothing. His arms were also bandaged up, the tattered material stopping at his knuckles.

He had matching pants to his shirt, colored the same hue of black. Yet just a few inches past the knees, the pants flared out, then were tucked snug against his bandaged skin beneath. He was void of any shoes, standing on the dead ground in his bare feet, the bandages cutting off right above his ankles. Atop his head were thick black ears shaped like that of a wolf. A thick bushy black tail went to compliment the ears. Past peachy colored lips, tinted in a hint of mischievousness, Cloud could see the faint shimmer of two long canines poking past, but not that far out.

His aura as mighty, as well as his fearful stance. But all of a sudden, his firm eyes relaxed and that suffocating black smog of a presence dissipated back into his body, almost seeping into his naturally tanned, sun-kissed skin. A smile flickered across his face, and it was a playful one. Those long canines protruded from his lips just a little bit more, but behind those, were more human like teeth.

"It's been awhile since I've had such a young and cute master." He spoke. His tone was much more different than when he was sealed inside the limestone, it was almost musical and bouncy.

He crouched down on the dying ground as he balanced on the balls of his feet, hovering right in front of Cloud and still smiling. His right hand came out and tenderly brushed against the blonde's right cheek. Sharp nails tenderly agitated his skin as they smoothly ran by. The cuts on his face began to vanish and as the wolf looking nightcrawler danced his fingers across the wounds of the awestruck blonde, the injuries began to close up and heal as if they never existed. Even the blood -fresh and dry- vanished in the thin midnight air.

"There! All fixed up." The male nightcrawler said, flashing Cloud an even greater grin.

This couldn't have been the same creature that beckoned the blonde to come closer. No way! His voice had been deeper, more demanding. Now it was light and carefree, almost as if the voice he had earlier was not his own. A rubicund blush flustered across his cheeks, now regaining more of a healthy color. Why was the nightcrawler staring at him like that? It was making him nervous!

"Just to let you know, I'm not an average nightcrawler. I'm a Tasonosenshi, or what you humans call a 'Shapeshifter'. We Tasonosenshi's have our ways of working our magic on you humans, such as a deep and confident voice." The shapeshifter spoke, beginning in his lighter voice, then tapering back down to that deep voice from before.

Cloud's eyes widened. Not only had he bargained his life and soul to a nightcrawler, but a Tasonosenshi to boot! These creatures were one of the most powerful beings sealed inside the forest. They were the strongest, the mightiest, and the most demanding of their contractors. But he hadn't been thinking when he agreed, he just wanted to live!

"So-" The shapeshifter began, now plopping his rear onto the dry ground as he sat crisscross in front of the blonde. "-Since you're my master, yet I'm your contractor, I do believe you need to tell me your name." He finished, slowly wagging his black tail side to side.

"I...uh-I'm Cloud." The blonde stammered, that blush increasing in intensity. How could a shapeshifter basically have two different personalities? And was his desire to live so great he willingly contracted himself to one?

"Cloud, huh? Cool! My name's..." The shifter began with a big grin, but then his smile fell and he looked disappointed and nearly...ashamed. "-Actually, I have no name. I'm named whatever my master chooses to call me." He finished up, much softer than when he began.

The blonde could hardly think right now, never the less think of a name to whom he had bonded himself to for life! His mouth moved, yet no sound escaped his lips. He stammered silently for a few moments, and the shifter watched his mouth move in near a perplexing matter it seemed.

"Do you need help, Master?" The Tasonosenshi asked, cocking his head to the right ever so slightly as his black ears twitched. His tail still continued to faintly swish.

"n-No, um...You-You're name is uh..." Cloud stuttered, not being able to think straight right now. As if he could think of his _own_ name right now! Too much had happened in the last ten minutes and his brain was beginning to lag.

"-Zack! That's your name!" The blonde blurted, shouting out the first name that came to mind.

This was the name of his old childhood friend that he lost contact with many years ago when the raven-haired boy had moved away to a different country. They never kept in contact afterwards.

"Zack? I like it!" The shifter spoke with a bounce in his voice.

That big grin spread across his face even wider as his tail began to wag even faster. But then he stopped all of a sudden and a serious look became etched into his youthful looking face.

"-I nearly forgot. Now that we are contracted together, I have to grant you a wish or two in exchange for your soul. You can back out of this now, but if you do, you die." He deeply hummed as a dour and near sensual look replaced the serious one. Yet his tail slapped softly at the dying ground and his ears twitched on occasion.

Cloud was struck silent at this news. If he were to back out now he really would die. Yet if he agreed, his soul, mind, and body, would forever belong to a shapeshifter until he expired. What pros and cons would come with these decisions? His own blue eyes looked into Zack's. The shifter was patiently waiting for an answer but still looked serious and dark. Fearing to run the ravenette from his patience, he finally spoke.

"I won't back out. I accept." Cloud spoke. He tried to sound confident, but his voice said otherwise and a harsh squeaky whisper escaped from his mouth.

"You're certainly a strange one, Master. Now...Tell me what you want and I'll make it happen." Zack responded, his dark tone still holding dominance over the lighter one.

Cloud didn't have to think twice about what he wanted. He sucked in a deep breath before responding with; "Give me strength to defend myself."

"Is this all you require? Nothing more?" The shifter asked one last time, just to confirm his contractor's request.

"Just do it, will you?" The blonde said, not wanting to repeat what he just said.

A smile flickered across Zack's face. "Good...I think you just might be my favorite Master yet." He said as his darker tone began to disappear. Yet an eerily happy smile flickered across instead, similar to a never ending grin rivaling a falling moon with a face.

"This is going to hurt, Master." The shifter spoke before he pulled back his right arm, building some tension. His ears even flattened down to his head and his thick tail stopped moving or beating the ground.

Cloud was about to ask what was going to hurt, but he knew the answer the instant Zack's clawed hand penetrated through his chest. He felt the ravenette's hand moving around inside of him; searching, penetrating. Searing and burning pain erupted through the blonde's chest. It felt as if he was shot through the chest and then had burning hot water and acid poured into the hole. He felt the Shifter squeeze his very heart as his claw like fingernails dug into the organ, leaving deep gashes.

The blonde threw back his head back and let loose a bloodcurdling scream the harder those sharp nails dug into the tender organ. A stream of Zack's dark aura swirled from his body, curled around his arm, and penetrated Cloud's chest, drying the fresh blood and sealing the gashes. The shifter removed his hand and the dark aura he had placed inside the blonde instantly closed up the wound he himself had inflicted. Then the pain was gone just as quick as it came.

"There...I've marked you, Master. Now you must find something to mark me. It does not have to be at this very moment, but soon." Zack spoke, patting Cloud on the chest where he had jammed his hand into.

And just like that, Cloud Strife sold his soul to a Tasonosenshi...

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A/N: Whew! Talk about a long chapter! :D Did you like it? Leave me your response or questions in the reviews and let me know what you thought! :) Hope my edits made the chapter flow much better :3

Since there's never that much to discuss in the first chapter, I bid you all farewell until the next chapter! :)

Toodles!

~Zimithrus1


	2. Make Room

Huzzah! Chapter two of Transmogrify it out and ready for a reading! Special thanks to the people that have already favorited, followed, and reviewed! It means a lot to me! Anyhow, I'll end this little header right here :) Enjoy!

1-31-16: This chapter has also been edited. Spelling errors have been caught and fixed to better help the flow of the story as well as grammatical ones.

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~Make Room~

Cloud still sat there on the forest floor, half still in disbelief for what he had done and half for observing the Tasonosenshi he sold his soul to. The ravenette nightcrawler was sitting on his rear staring right back at the blonde. His face was hard to read, nearly expressionless. His thick black tail was softly thumping against the ground and his hands were pressed against the ground in the gap of his legs. His ears remained stationary on his head, only slightly twitching when a soft breeze caressed the leathery appendages.

His left ear twitched firmly, and instantly, Zack pulled his left leg up and scratched at it with his foot, squeezing his eyes shut tight and sticking his tongue out when he hit the right spot. His tail began to beat at the ground even louder and faster the more he scratched at the itch. Cloud just blinked absently. He didn't know what to think about this weird nightcrawler. One moment, he was dark and ominous and in the next, he was just like an innocent dog.

When the itch had been properly scratched, the shapeshifter pulled his leg back down into its former crisscrossed position and those eyes went right back to staring at Cloud as if he had never scratched at his fluffy ear in the first place. Zack was definitely an oddball. He made it seem as if Tasonosenshis were nothing to be afraid of, as if they were just some silly scary story. Finally pulling himself back to reality and breaking the silent stare with the nightcrawler, the blonde stood up from the forest floor. The ravenette's cat slit like eyes followed his every movement.

"Come on, it's past midnight and I need to get home." Cloud told him as he turned on his heel and looked towards the cliff he had fallen from just minutes ago.

"'Kay!" Zack exclaimed as he sprang up to his feet, just about towering over the young blonde.

The small teen began to walk towards the rocky cliff, stepping carefully over tangled roots gnawing bitterly at the dying ground. The shapeshifter followed right behind, not as cautiously as the blonde though. He just stepped right over whatever was in his way and kicked some twigs out of his path, huffing softly. His black tail swished side to side behind him, free to move due to a small slit in the seat of his strange pants. Cloud was careful as he began to make his way up the little cliff, grabbing onto some hanging tree branches that seemed to stretch out their limbs to assist him.

He would make sure he had decent footing before taking another step up the steep slope. On occasion, he would slip slightly and throw his hands out in front of him and dig into the ground to keep balance. After regaining lost ground, he would continue on at his own comfortable pace. A soft breeze picked up and blew the blonde's clothes and hair around. It was cool, tinted with a soft midnight's dew as it brought comfort to his slightly overheated body. As he made his way up the cliff, the fog was beginning to clear up and make visibility better. The sky was still dark as could be, the clouds gone and the stars much dimmer than before.

Finally reaching the top of the steep slope, he stood tall and stretched out his legs, a bit worn from the climb up. Oddly enough, he did not hear Zack behind him. His ears were only greeted with silence instead. He turned around and looked back down at the base of the cliff. The ravenette was standing there cockily, bandaged arms folded across his chest and his weight leaning on his right hip. Even from this distance, Cloud could see a smug grin on his face. His left ear was flattened to his head and the other was shot upright, unmoving. His tail flicked low to the ground.

"Master, you sure are slow." He teased. His darker tone from earlier had come back and overtook the lighter tone he had once possessed.

For some reason, that little comment annoyed the blonde. His cheeks flourished into a rosy red color and even his ears began to heat up. His baby blue eyes narrowed and his golden yellow eyebrows began to pull to the center of his forehead. He clenched his fists at his side before sputtering out his response, similar to that of a stalling car engine.

"Oh shut up, you!" He retorted, a light snort following from his nose.

His annoyance only caused Zack to laugh and his ears perked in amusement as his tail began to swish side-to-side quickly. The ravenette then approached the cliff still chuckling on occasion, then dug his claw-like nails into the cracking dirt. With that, he began to climb his way up, using his claws as an anchor as he clawed his way up the dry cliff. A few bits of stray dirt slipped from under his claws and feet as he ascended, but it was only a minor distraction to him and did not stop his speedy pursuit.

The ravenette made it to the top of the cliff much quicker than the blonde previously had. He stood tall upon standing on solid ground with his hands on his hips. His thick tail flicked in amusement before he removed his hands from his sides and he dusted the old dirt from them. The gentle breeze picked up a little more and let the clothing of the two flutter in the wind. A few crickets began to chirp in the distance and even a few fireflies lit up the desolate forest in a soothing beacon of warm light. Since they were closer to the perimeter, life was beginning to spring back up left and right.

Zack did a double take at the world around him, spinning in a small circle as his ears twitched multiple times, honing in and locating the sounds of the forest. It had been so long since he had last enjoyed the outside world. The soft orchestra from the crickets nearly made him hum along softly, and it relaxed him to a point. The small fireflies fluttered delicately through the air, caressing the gentle breeze as they flew by. The trees near the perimeter of the seal had more life than the ones by his prison. Lush green was scattered throughout the treetops. The soft hoot of an owl echoed faintly in his superior hearing range.

Cloud watched as the shapeshifter observed the world around him. To be honest, he was content in just watching the ravenette react to a world that had once forgotten of his presence. He was a big ball of mystery; acting serious one minute, then awestruck and childlike in the next. He was afraid when he had made the deal with the Tasonosenshi, but now that some time had passed since then, he became less fearful. But that still did not change the fact that he gave himself to a shapeshifter. He would have to adjust.

As Zack completed his second circle in place, he realized the ground here was much softer than where his confinement had been. He looked down to discover lush green grass spurting from the ground and dancing faintly in the soft wind all around him, even stretching beyond him and his Master. He smiled as he curled his toes into the fresh blades of dew kissed grass. His tail flicked happily behind him. It had been too long since he had seen the outside. He had forgotten how beautiful the world outside was compared to that dead prison on the inside.

"This is fantastic, Master!" Zack beamed brightly, a big grin spreading across his face like a knife over warmed butter.

"Okay, could you knock it off with the 'Master' stuff? It's a little embarrassing." Cloud sheepishly admitted as his right hand began to embed itself into his hair and ruffle it slowly.

"You...Want me to call you by your _name_?" The ravenette asked awkwardly, as if he wasn't supposed to address the blonde by his name.

"It would be appreciated. Why did you start calling me 'Master' in the first place?" The frail teen asked, removing his hand from his hair as he looked at Zack right in the eyes.

"Well, all my other masters wanted me to call them Master. So I thought you'd be the same as them." The shifter honestly spoke, still grinning away happily. However, his tail was barely flicking now.

"Well, I think it's just awkward, so, just call me by my name, okay?" The blue eyed human concluded, pushing his small hands into his pockets.

"As you wish, Cloud!" Zack quickly exclaimed, throwing a bounce into his voice as his tail resumed it's more natural wagging.

Suddenly feeling hot in the face, the blonde turned away from the shapeshifter as his ears began to heat up. There was just something about the way Zack spoke his name that made him feel a strange kind of uneasy. He swallowed the feeling down and tried to remember how to act normally.

He continued to walk, searching for the way he had once come so he could get out of here already. The ravenette followed right behind him once more. The two stayed silent, but the world kept playing its natural music. Crickets continued to chirp through the still midnight air and a few owls added in some baritone hoots to the mixture. The blades of grass crumpled and crunched under their feet as the two continued their walk towards the perimeter.

There was a break in the trees after a few minutes of walking in silence. Beyond that break, there was a large grassy field. In the distance, faint warm light rose into the sky like softly burning candles burned down to the wick, where they flicker brightly before dying away in a puff of smoke.

Beyond this big grassy plain was the neighborhood Cloud lived in. Outside that neighborhood was where the city slept. Noting that they had made it to the edge of the forest, the blonde broke into a sprint as he felt lighter than a feather. The air felt fresher now that he was closer to his home.

Zack had begun to sprint behind the blonde as well, making sure to keep close to his contractor. He paused right where the trees ended even though the younger teen ran right through the seal like it was nothing. The ravenette was a little worried. Before he had been sealed to that limestone rock, he had once roamed freely. He tried to break through the perimeter seal once before but suffered for his actions back then. When he tried to leave through the line of trees, a searing and burning pain lapped at his skin, then a strong jolt of electricity followed that, zapping him backwards from the seal and leaving him bleeding from the burns.

Cloud turned around when he noticed that the ravenette was not behind him. He had a light smile on his face, but when he saw a near worried look on the shapeshifter's face, the blonde's smile fell a bit. A Tasonosenshi looking scared? That just didn't seem to settle well. Those beings were supposed to be fearless, scary... _Not_ _human_. Seeing one of these mighty monsters looking scared was scary in its own way. Everything he was taught about these creatures was proven wrong every second he spent with the ravenette.

"Zack, you coming?" Cloud asked, making sure to throw his voice now that the wind outside the forest had picked up even more than before.

The ravenette looked up at him with a sad smile. His ears flattened to his head and his tail hung low and still, nearly finding solace tucking in between his legs as if he truly was frightened of taking a step out of the border of the trees. He fidgeted slightly and he started gripping his fingers, beginning to wring them out as a worried little pout overcame his face. His right foot began to rub at his left leg, and even a reddening blush crept across his cheeks.

"I...I think I'm..." The ravenette began, but he didn't finish his sentence. He didn't want to admit that he was actually scared to try and leave the place he had spent so long chained up in.

He looked down at the ground as he continued to wring his fingers out. He could see a bit of his own tail poking out from in between his legs. He didn't need to voice what he was thinking. It was clear enough he was actually a little scared. He had spent so long in that limestone rock that even the thought of breaking out of here seemed unsettling. He didn't want to get zapped again and left immobile again.

He was uneasy but he wasn't stupid. He knew if you play with fire you get burned and this was just like that. You try and break out, you get punished.

He heard soft footsteps approaching, so he coyly looked up to see Cloud walking towards him, yet he had a soft -almost understanding- smile on his face. He paused just a foot or two away from the taller teen, looking up at him with kind blue eyes,

"It's alright. Everyone's scared of something...Human or not." The blonde said, his grin becoming just a little bit bigger. He reached out his hand and grabbed onto the ravenette's. "-I'm actually scared of you." He admitted with a blush.

"Well that's a given." Zack responded more playfully, his ears beginning to perk back up, even if his tail remained where it was.

Cloud just lightly pulled on the shifter's hand, gently tugging him from his spot. At first the ravenette did not budge, nearly immobilized. But by the third encouraging tug, he slowly moved. He closed his eyes tightly when he began to step out of the seal. He found himself even beginning to hold his breath. After a few seconds of standing still, he pried his right eye open to find the blonde smiling at him. Zack whirled around to see he had indeed made it past the seal and he was just fine.

A big grin spread across his face as he looked back at Cloud. There was a bright shimmer in his eyes and it made them shine, even in the darkness of the new moon midnight. There was a moments' pause in time and the two just seemed to stand like that for a few seconds, untouched by even the faint breeze. It was as if the moment had been frozen for only a few tics.

"I did it!" Zack exclaimed, elation swelling in his voice. His ears perked all the way up, and his black tail began to wag swiftly side-to-side.

Cloud fished him out a smile, then finally let go of his large hand as he pulled his own back to his side. He turned back around to see the comforting lights of the neighborhood in the distance. The soothing glow was still dim as ever, yet it made his chest burn in a comforting warmth. But he then remembered he would be bringing a strange man home. What would his mother think? Especially if she could sense that he was a Tasonosenshi! Anxiety began to bubble in the blonde's brain.

"What will my mother think if I bring back a strange man home with me in the middle of the night?" Cloud voiced his problem aloud as he turned to Zack, wondering if he somehow might have an answer.

The ravenette did not seemed the least bit worried or phased by the change in the blonde's mood. Instead he just pulled his hand to his chin, beginning to pace and hum quizzically. Of course he knew what to do, he just wanted to tease the blonde a little bit. He wasn't going to lie, it was fun to see him get all flustered when he was teased. He was definitely one of the funniest masters the shifter had encountered in quite some time. He watched the blonde squirm in place for a few more moments before he pulled his hand from his chin, holding it up as if he just now formulated a solution to his problem.

Cloud's face shifted into a look of confusion as Zack widened his stance, his eyes becoming more serious and strangely concentrated. The blonde was about to pop off with some sarcastic remark, but his mouth was left hanging open as he began to hear loud pops and snaps coming from the shifter. He saw his arms and legs roughly jerking and pulling, as if trying to leave his body by a willing force of some kind as the shifter's back was beginning to hunch and curl in on his body.

The ravenette's hands and feet began to morph, resembling thick black paws, and deadly sharp claws had been unsheathed from the appendages. There were more pops and snaps resonating through the air as Zack's spinal structure began to change form. He sunk to the grassy field on his hands and knees, growling savagely as his facial structure underwent a morphing stage. Thin slivers of whiskers shot out and elongated from his cheeks, which was now beginning to form into a thick black snout.

Where there had once been skin was now beginning to grow a heavy amount of midnight black fur, the same color as the ravenette's hair. His bones snapped once more, aligning in jerky and breakneck motions. And after a few more moments of growling and snapping, a large pure black wolf stood in front of Cloud. He was massive in size, even in this form. Standing about three feet on all fours. His eyes were still as blue as could be. He took a soft seat on the grass, resting on his haunches.

"Why so surprised? I _am_ a Tasonosenshi after all." Zack-the-wolf seemed to chuckle. His tail began to wag behind him as his eyes glimmered in amusement.

Cloud should have figured. The name Tasonosenshi means 'Shapeshifter'. The ravenette was bound to have another form or two, maybe even endless forms. But it still came as a shock to the blonde. Not being able to throw away the look of surprise washed over his face, he was greeted by gruff chuckling that sounded more like harsh barking from the newly transmogrified wolf. He rose from his sitting position and ran his sleek body against the teen's left leg, growling affectionately just like a common dog.

"Shouldn't we be going now?" Zack suggested as his sharp gaze looked beyond the blonde and towards the glowing light of the neighborhood.

"Uh, yes...l-Let's go." Cloud stammered, beginning to walk towards the ever distant residential area.

The newly turned wolf followed right beside the blonde, wagging his tail and twitching his fuzzy ears as he trotted alongside at even stride. The grassy field had seemed to swallow up the wolf, for his head was barely poking out from the thick green blades and his tail swished side to side, beating gently against the lush life. For Cloud, the grass came up to his hip, but he was still able to move through the green currents fluidly. A few more stray crickets provided them with soft music and a few wandering fireflies lit up the desolate field in soft specks against the black night sky.

The two were silent as they continued their trek towards the neighborhood. The dim light had increased, but only by a little bit. That was to be expected though, not very many people would be up and about at this time of night. His mother certainly would be, panicking and fretting about him for sure. It wasn't as if coming home well past midnight wasn't a natural occurrence, but she always worried due to the bruises and dried blood that would litter his lithe body when he returned.

Since Zack had healed his wounds when they first contracted, the blonde would have to think of how to reiterate his story so his mother didn't jump to any hasty conclusions. She was good at doing that. Even since childhood, a scraped knee was like a broken bone to her. The woman had always been overprotective of her little baby, even if he wasn't so little anymore.

Cloud was brought out of his deep thoughts when his shoes connected to concrete, rather than grass and dirt. He blinked once and did a quick double take. Zack stopped beside him, looking around as his Master did. His claws clicked against the concrete sidewalk when he shifted his weight. Upon hearing a few faint noises from inside a few of the houses that were lit up, his ears perked and twitched. The blonde resumed walking through the backstreets of the neighborhood. A few street lamps illuminated their path in a soft orange glow as they continued on.

The duo followed the curves of the street, taking rights and lefts where necessary and even double glancing at a street name posted atop a stop sign. Cars were parked in driveways and against the sides of the roads, void of any kind of life in the dead of this night. It was always this quiet and serene every time the blonde would limp his way back home on any other given night. The crickets chirping had long grown faint, left alone back in that grassy field and the fireflies swarmed only there, never following the blonde into his neighborhood.

Taking one more right, the blonde found himself on the street where his home was located. It was a dead end street, melding into a cul-de-sac. His house was at the end of the circle, on the left side of where the circle began. His house was the only one with nearly all its lights on. His mother had even left the living room blinds open and he could faintly see her pacing from inside the well-lit house. Zack's ears twitched and his eyes locked onto the house.

It must have been the darkest, yet brightest, the ravenette had ever seen. Inside, it seemed warm and welcoming. But outside was a whole new level. The grass was yellow and dying, even in the middle of spring. There was a thick weeping willow on the right side of their yard, bending by time's will and fate's design. The hanging branches were alight with a yellow green life, yet it looked as dead as the grass in the front yard. Padding his paws against the driveway, he could feel the cracks and chips within the concrete. A few thick green weeds sprouted out from the thicker cracks.

The brown coated garage door was dented in and looked old and rusted. It could have used a fresh coat of paint years ago, and was now suffering from the neglect. There was even an old and rusting car on the left side of the driveway in front of the beaten up garage door. It was resting against bricks and tires were missing on the front axle. Rust was the primary paint for the old car. It looked like an old muscle car that had flourished when the shifter had last been free. Looking at the model, he was right. It was a fading El Camino that once had a sense of glory, but now long lost by time.

The bricks of the house were even a very dark brown color as well as the siding of the house. Grime and dirt lay pressed into the exterior design and even the concrete steps that belong to the porch were old and cracked. When warm light flooded over his black coated body, Zack looked up to see the front door was wide open, even if the screen door in front of it was closed. He then looked at the blonde beside him to see a sad smile on his face as he approached the front door.

Cloud pulled open the screen door as it squealed and groaned loudly as the hinges complained about being moved. He stepped into the well-lit and soothing house, first greeted by white linoleum at the doorway that soon branched off to tan brown carpet that was soft and plushy to the touch. He made his way from the doorway and further into the living room, clearly aware that Zack had sat on his haunches by the doorway. He had grown awfully quiet when he had seen the house.

The pacing woman from earlier had stopped in the act when she heard the door open. She quickly turned around on her heels to look towards the front door. When she saw her boy walk in, she lost composure and threw herself at him, squeezing him tightly and taking a large shaky breath. Cloud looked down at his mother who looked nearly like his own counterpart. She had thick blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, yet her bangs stayed down to lightly curve around her full face. Her blue eyes were the same shade as her son's, but only a tad bit darker due to older age.

She was a short woman, riding only at about five foot three and just four inches shorter than her son. Not only that, but she looked young. Too young to be the mother of a seventeen-year-old. She was plainly dressed in a loose fitting orange tank top, and light grey sweat shorts ending a few inches above her knees. The clothes looked to be too big on her small frame. She was just as thin and lithe as her son, if not more so.

"Oh, Cloud. You're back!" She cried with great emotion as she refused to let him go from her frail arms.

She did however, pull away from him to get a look at his face. She saw no bruises or blood anywhere on his body, but did take notice of how dirty his clothes and skin were. She gently brushed some crumbling dirt from his shirt and hair, becoming even more motherly, if the blonde counterpart thought that was even possible.

"You're not beaten up for once, but you're all filthy! Where were you?" She quickly demanded as she pulled at the bottom of her shirt up and brought it to her mouth, licking it before wiping at her son's face.

Cloud sputtered and pulled away from his mother before responding. "I was just out like usual. But I accidentally bumped into some people and they were the kind of guys that took it the wrong way." The blonde explained, somewhat white lying.

The first part was true. He ran into Deepground on accident on his way home from school. He tried to evade them, but they wouldn't have any of that and immediately began to chase after him when he made a run for it. Yes, they had even been after him well passed sunset. They were insane and loved making him scream. If he hadn't made a pact with a Tasonosenshi, he'd surely be...

"-But before it got too serious, someone saved me." Cloud finished as he saw that familiar sad look in his mother's eyes once more.

"Who did?" She quickly asked, her eyes alight in a bright shimmer. This was certainly a first for her, and she wanted to know who helped her baby when he needed it.

The blonde teen turned his eyes towards the front door, only finding Zack peeking around the corner, still in that wolf form of his. "-He did." Was his blunt response.

His mother looked over before her eyes widened and her body seemed to flail like she had been zapped with a jolt of electricity.

"_That's a freakin' wolf!_" She exclaimed with fright.

"It's alright mom, he's friendly." Cloud reassured gently, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

She made hesitant eye contact with the beast for a moment. To play the part of 'good dog', Zack whimpered and flattened his once perky ears to the top of his head. The blonde's mother continued to stare at the black wolf before taking slow steps toward it. She eyed the beast with every careful step. She had always been a bit wary of the canine persuasion, especially the wild sort. The shapeshifter kept his hurt gaze even as she stood right in front of him.

Upon stopping at a foot or two in front of the dog she knelt down and pulled her knees to her chest. She held out her right hand cautiously, uncertainty behind those blue eyes of hers. Zack lightly sniffed at her hand, registering the scent of the young woman before him. Her aroma smelled of sweet peas and a fresh spring rain. Her aura was soothing and welcoming.

"Did you help my boy out today?" She asked coyly, a faint blush was beginning to etch its way across her cheeks. She still seemed nervous.

The shifter barked once, then gently licked the hand still offered out to him. His actions earned him soft and delicate giggles from the petite woman, and her hand then reached across the wolf, petting at his thick black fur. To let the woman know he appreciated the affection, he allowed his tongue to lop from his mouth and he panted softly, wagging his bushy black tail none the less for emphasis. A faint smile tugged at her mouth before she used her delicate fingers to gently scratch behind his right ear.

Oh, she found his good spot! Instantly, his right hind leg began to thump against the carpet, and his tail began to wag even faster. His panting increased in speed and volume and the ear being twitched perked all the way up, silently telling her to scratch there some more.

"It's almost like he's an ordinary dog. Don't wolves usually live in packs though?" he blonde's mother questioned as she glanced back at her son.

She continued to scratch at the desired spot even as the wolf fell over on his side as he still kicked his hind leg out and panted.

"Usually, but this one was out by itself for some reason. He might have been rejected from his pack." Cloud responded, before he paused to roll his eyes from his spot in the living room. That shapeshifter was just a wild card.

She stopped scratching behind Zack's ear, then stood up from the floor, turning around to face her son with a soft pity smile on her face. She wasn't one hundred percent sure about this wolf being a lone one, bur what other proof did she have besides word of mouth? The shifter behind her rolled back onto his haunches, sitting there quietly yet with a canine grin across his snout. His tail continued to wag behind him as he looked up at the two.

"He doesn't have a home. Do you think we could take him in?" Cloud added on.

"A wolf." His mother began.

"Yes?"

"You're asking me if we can take in a _wolf_. A _wild animal_?"

"Perhaps?" Cloud responded, not sure how to reply to that.

"Look baby, I know you've got a bleeding heart for strays and animals of any sorts, but we can't just take in a wild animal even if he _did _help you out. You don't know if he could snap one day and just-"

Before she should get another word out, Zack jumped on all fours and started barking enthusiastically. He dashed from his spot by the door and leapt at the blonde he had contracted himself to. The young teen wasn't expecting that and tumbled onto the floor with a startled grunt as his mother let out a startled and frightened gasp. The current wolf stood on top of him, barking and wagging his fluffy tail in excitement. The blonde shot him a small glare, but the shifter just barked again, then started licking his cheeks like a common dog.

"I thought he was attacking you just as I was saying he could snap and do so, but it seems he just wanted to attack you with affection." She commented, holding her hand over her chest as she took in a composed breath.

"So can we or can we not at least let him stay here for a while?" Cloud pressed one more time as he pushed Zack's snout away from his face and directed his gaze to his mother's.

"…Alright, _alright_. But he has to sleep in the backyard. He may seem like a normal dog, but it doesn't change that fact that he's a wild wolf." She compromised with a firm tone.

Cloud pushed Zack off him then sat up, shooting another glare at the wolf as he wiped the fresh slobber from his cheeks with the back of his hands before deciding to stand up. The shapeshifter still continued to wag his tail and pant.

"Thanks mom." The blonde acknowledged.

His mother had given him another hug and a kiss to his cheek, bidding him goodnight and how he should be getting to bed soon. She also reminded him to put the wolf outside before getting to bed. With that, she returned to her bedroom, shutting off most of the lights as she went. She shut her bedroom door softly behind her. When all was silent,

"I really don't have to sleep outside, do I?" Zack asked lowly, as to not alert his master's mother he could speak and was most certainly not a wolf.

"While I really don't want to disobey her, I wouldn't feel right about putting you back outside after you were just freed. Just keep quiet and you can snooze in my room." Cloud responded before he broke into stride.

The blonde teen made his way down the hall towards his own room as Zack followed, trotting alongside with a spring in his step knowing he wouldn't have to be put out. He noticed pictures decorating the halls of the wall and slowed down to get a better look at them. There were a few baby pics of his Master, a few of his mother, and a few of a man he had not seen before. This man had been on the frail side like the others in the house, but he had some muscles forming on his arms. He had shaggy chocolate brown hair and emerald green eyes. He was dressed in military garb, yet he held a kind smile on his face.

Next to the picture was a young Cloud and his mother next to him. Both were dressed in black and standing next to a closed coffin. Even though the scenery in that picture was bright and lively; not a cloud in the sky and the sun shining brightly, the faces in the picture were sullen and dark. The picture was like polar opposites of itself. That man must have died in action. Finally pulling himself away from the picture, he turned around and saw the blonde looking at the picture with a sad smile on his face.

"Come on, Zack." Was all he spoke before turning a right at the end of the hall where his room was.

It was then painfully obvious that man had been the father of his current master. From the looks of it, he departed from them when the blonde must have only been a minor five years old. He quietly followed the blonde to his room, becoming nearly as sullen as the faces in the picture. His contractor must have not had a very good life.

Then or now...

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A/N: And there's chapter two for you! Long enough I hope! XD I'm trying to make all the chapters a certain word count, and it's pretty tough to do since I mostly wing my stories :p

Anyway, let me know what you thought of the story and ask me any questions if need be :)

Toodles for now!

~Zimithrus1


	3. Second Chances

Yay! Chapter three of Transmogrify is out and ready for a reading! I hope you have all enjoyed the story so far and hope you will continue to like it :) Without further ado, I give you chapter three!

1-31-16: This chapter has also been revised. Errors have been fixed as well as any inconsistencies :)

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~Second Chances~

Cloud's room was located on the last room on the left side of where the hallway had split into two directions. The brown oak door was wide open, yet the lights in the room were all off. Zack trotted inside first still disguised in his wolf form. Even though his sight was more superior over the average human's, this room remained quite dark and it was hard to pinpoint exactly where everything was. A ceiling lamp flickered into life suddenly, blinking once before remaining lit up to bathe the room in a soft florescent glow.

The Shapeshifter pivoted his head, looking left and right and all around him. He gently whiffed at the air with his delicate nose coated like velvet. He registered the scent of the room; Fresh cherries with a tinge of faint vanilla. The carpet under his paws had changed in color from a tan color to more of a beige tone. The walls were a peachy off white color, but was mostly obscured from posters hanging all over them. Towards the left of him there was a large queen sized bed draped in royal blue sheets and comforters. The pillowcases had been the same color, but only lighter in hue.

A small end table sat on the right side of the bed. There was a small lamp perched upon the solid wood that was currently off at the moment. Next to the lamp, a red colored digital clock displayed the cerulean numbers of twelve twenty-five. A dot on the left side of the clock showed that it was AM, and it would blink softly and slowly on occasion. Looking back towards the bed, he noticed an old and ragged looking toy. A small chocobo to be exact. He let his eyes trail back to the rest of the room.

Across the bed, there was a wooden door that was appearing to splinter in a few places. The shifter inferred that it must be the closet. Next to the decaying door, there was a small entertainment center with a boxy television looking no bigger than sixteen inches. Rabbit ear antennas sat atop the contraption. Under the television, a small game console rested on one of the shelves as well as a few games. It looked to be untouched for quite some time since there was now a thin layer of dust on the electronic device.

On the wall adjacent to the bed, there was a small dark oak bookshelf littered with books of all kinds from sci-fi down to fantasy. A few comics were ever scattered in between the mix. A few trinketal objects sat in the unoccupied spaces of the shelves; a glass dragon on one and a moogle on the other empty space. Including the large furniture and wall space, the room had been quite small and there was little walk room in the center of the room with only a small path to be able to reach the bed.

Squinting his wolfish blue eyes, Zack noticed how worn this furniture was, as if it had been rotting here for years upon years. The walls even sported small cracks in certain areas and the carpet seemed worn out and ready for retirement. This family must be lesser than middle class. The entire house had been a bit too small for comfort. His previous Masters had all had bigger and fancier houses, but this one was much too different from the others. It would be a nice change of pace.

The transmogrified wolf was brought out of his stupor when the door shut with a quiet click. He whirled around on his paws to see Cloud glancing around the room for a brief moment. There was a small smile on his face, but it wasn't a happy one. It seemed forced and not all there. His own blue eyes trailed back to the shifter watching him with near analytical eyes.

"I know it's not much, but it's all we have right now. Money's tight around here because of all my hospital bills." The blonde responded, his voice was almost a murmur.

Zack assumed that he was put in a clinic because of those few people that found fun in beating him senseless. From what he had heard between his Contractor and his mother, this was almost a natural occurrence. Finally having enough of being in this form and that depressed tone from the blonde, he slowly began to change back to his more humanoid form. Spinal structure began to alter once more and most of the fur began to recede away as tanned skin took its place. When his transformation was completed, he was hunched on his hands and knees, bushy black tail softly wagging.

His old clothes from earlier had replaced the black fur on his body, and even the bandages returned to his arms, legs, and midriff again. His fuzzy black ears twitched softly when he heard the blonde gasp in a quiet fashion, and a smile flickered across his face. He knew what kind of look the boy had on his face right now. He suppressed the urge to snicker.

"What are you doing? What if my mom sees!?" Cloud harshly whispered, glancing back at his bedroom door with nearly a 'caught red handed' look on his face. That sadness was gone now and replaced with tension that almost made the shifter want to laugh.

"Relax, she went to sleep. No harm." Zack responded, getting up from the floor as a smile spread across his face effortlessly.

"No harm? What do you mean _'No harm'_? She'll get suspicious if she sees me in here with a freaking gorgeous stranger!" The blonde exclaimed, still whispering loudly.

"Did you just call me _gorgeous_?" The shifter teased, a sly grin tugging at the corners of his lips as he gave the blonde a sensual look.

Cloud was about to say something, but no words came out. His mouth hung open and his eyes were firm, but they quickly turned to surprise. His face instantly broke out in a rubicund blush that made him rival the redness of a tomato. His eyes shot over towards his bed as that blush began to redden even deeper in embarrassment with what had slipped out of his mouth unintentionally.

"y-You're hearing things! I didn't say that!" The blonde quickly countered, dropping the whisper as his voice took on cracking from his embarrassment instead.

"Oh, I know what I heard." Zack said with a devil's grin, moving to stand right in front of the blushing mess of boy. He had used his lower registers of his voice again, the tone he used to sucker the teenager into freeing him.

"_Sh-Shut up, you_!" Cloud exclaimed, pushing the ravenette away as the redness in his face refused to leave.

The shifter began to laugh and his tail flicked from side to side in his amusement. This only further upset the blonde and he crossed his arms over his chest, huffing out in annoyance. Why did this stupid Tasonosenshi find fun in aggravating him or embarrassing him? Couldn't Gaia or the Goddess ever give him a break for once? He was brought out of his thoughts when the shapeshifter began to speak.

"So, what makes you think I'm gorgeous? The face?" Zack continued to sensually tease. He kept using that dour tone in his voice to further rile the blonde up.

"Nothing does! Hey! Back up, will you?" Cloud snapped, getting more irritated when the ravenette began to step closer and invade his personal space.

Instead, the shifter only stopped right in front of the smaller boy, then grabbed his chin with his right hand and tilted the blonde's face up to his own. The lithe teenager fell silent in a matter of seconds as that blush flustered even deeper. His heart began to hammer in his chest, what the Hell was about to go down? The Tasonosenshi leaned in close to the more fuller face just inches below his. A carnal grin etched its way across his bow-shaped lips once more.

"Why don't you just try and make me?" He whispered, a soft growl that somewhat resembled a purr echoed from his voice and into the blonde's ear.

Cloud instantly pulled away from the ravenette, worked up in ways that he didn't understand and didn't want to understand. He muttered a soft _'Knock it off, perv_.' under his breath as his eyes found solace in looking down at the worn out carpet as he tenderly held his arms close to his chest to embrace himself bashfully. The ravenette's tail began to wag in amusement and his black ears twitched softly.

"I'm just teasing you, Blondie." Zack responded with a quick wink of his right eye. His voice went back to its normal register and an innocent grin played with his lips, rather than a sensual one.

"Good..." Cloud muttered, still looking down at the ground. His face began to gain it's natural pale color as the blood left from his cheeks at long last.

"Earlier, you said your wish was to have strength to defend yourself." The shifter suddenly spoke, his tone becoming quite serious at the moment.

"Yeah, that's right. What about it?" The blonde asked, finally looking up from the floor as he relaxed his body again, seeing how the subject had changed.

"I assume that the strength you wish for is to give those people a what for that constantly beat on you. Am I correct?" Zack asked, walking over to the large bed and plopping himself down on it without consent.

"You bet." Cloud responded firmly, determination laced thickly in his voice.

"I see. I can grant your wish at any time, but there is a catch." The shifter spoke, falling onto the mattress as he stared up at the ceiling.

His tail was resting between his legs to avoid being crushed from his own weight. The fuzzy appendage was only twitching by this point as the matter at hand became serious. His ears were perked straight up, honing in on the blonde's breathing as it suddenly spiked, obviously not expecting what had just been said. He heard the blonde approach swiftly, and suddenly, his head was hanging over the shifter's, blonde spikes in controlled disarray with the force of gravity.

"What do you mean there's a catch?" He demanded, his eyes narrowed and pinpointed now.

"I can't magically give you strength in one moment, like 'Poof'! And there it is. No, it doesn't work like that. Wishes don't work like that at all actually." Zack explained, his eyes trained onto the blonde's own.

"So-" Cloud began, but was quickly cut off.

"-This isn't a fairy tale, kid. It doesn't just magically happen, no wave of a wand or flick of the wrist. It's something that you yourself have to accomplish. All I can do is help make that wish become reality in whatever way my wits or power allow." The ravenette bluntly stated, quickly sitting up to look the blonde square in those eyes at close range.

He saw those blue eyes quickly swell with moisture that only future tears could bring. Yet they were quickly blinked back. A determined look quickly replaced the feeble weak one that had appeared just seconds ago. He pulled back from the bed a bit and his posture straightened up. He didn't look like that beaten boy from before, but almost like a whole new person.

"I don't know what or how exactly this all works, but, help me. I'll show Deepground that they can't beat me up forever." Cloud seemed to snarl at the end when that band of bullies had been mentioned.

"Oh yeah, you're definitely one of my favorite Masters. You're such a strange one, very intriguing." Zack spoke playfully, his tail pulled behind him to wag with excitement as he ears twitched a few times.

The blonde glanced over at his clock, reading the time that had been displayed as one o' three in the morning. He still had school tomorrow. It almost made him fidget uncomfortably, but then he remembered he had a Tasonosenshi at his beck and call. Not that he wanted to use him as just a thing to protect him, he looked to human, -acted- too human to be treated like a tool. An idea suddenly popped into his head.

"Zack, I want you to accompany me to school tomorrow." Cloud decided out loud, addressing the shifter directly.

"Uh, what?" The ravenette asked, a 'come again?' look spreading across his face. His tail stopped wagging.

"Come with me to school tomorrow. I want you to keep Deepground off me for the day." The blonde explained, approaching the shapeshifter currently sitting on his bed.

"I don't roll that way. Last time I went around a school, it didn't end well." Zack responded flatly.

Cloud scowled at him, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes narrowed at the ravenette. He shifted his weight to his right hip, and he even began to tap at the floor with his left foot in an impatient manner. The Shifter only snorted through his nose, eyes as firm as the blonde's in his decision. He too crossed his arms over his chest as the two locked into a deadly stare. One could see the sparks flying from their eyes due to the tension.

"As your Master, I _order_ you to accompany me tomorrow." Cloud demanded, nodding his head to emphasis his demand.

"Playing the 'Master' card are we? Sorry Blondie, since you haven't marked me, I don't have to follow your orders." Zack responded huffily, head cocked into an arrogant position.

The blonde quickly broke the stare and dashed to his closet, throwing the splintery door open with a loud squeal. He searched through a few shelves as he muttered a few choice words under his breath. The Shifter watched him with narrowed eyes, but his tail began to flick side to side in perpetual amusement. The seventeen year old stopped his search and balled something up in his fist before turning around and shutting the closet door behind him. He approached the shifter with cautious steps.

"Just what are you trying to-" Zack tried to inquire, but was suddenly tackled.

He fell against the mattress with a soft flop and out of instinct, a warning growl escaped from his mouth. The blonde was hovering over him, his hands locked around his neck as he tried to fasten some kind of object to him. There was a small snap sound and instantly after, the boy removed himself from the Shifter. The ravenette quickly sat up and his hands went to inspect his neck. He was perplexed when he felt leather fabric around his neck. When he moved, there was a soft jingling sound.

"What the _Hell_ did you just put on me?" Zack demanded, narrowing his eyes at the blonde once more.

"A dog collar." Cloud bluntly stated, sticking his tongue out after finishing his sentence.

"One: Where do you get the impression that I am of the house pet persuasion? And Two: Why in Odin's name do you have a_ dog collar_ in your closet?" The Tasonosenshi growled, trying to tug at the collar with his hands.

"Well for one, you're staying with me in that wolf form when my mom's around, if you don't have a collar around your neck and you go wandering about, you'll be put in a pound." Cloud countered as he kept his arms folded across his chest.

Zack kept jerking at the stupid material with all his strength, but strangely, the fabric did not rip or tear in the slightest! He used his sharp nails to scratch at the accursed neckwear and even tried to lean his head down to get his fangs in on the action. No matter what he did, he could not remove the atrocious thing! He glanced up towards his Master with hardened eyes, silently demanding an explanation to the bewitched object.

"You can't take it off because that's what I used to mark you back. Now you _have_ to listen to me. And be careful with that collar, it used to belong to my miniature schnauzer, Lucky, who died two years ago." Cloud stated with a huff.

Oh yes, this boy was very much different from the rest of his other Masters. It was as if he had two different personalities like he himself had. One minute, he was a helpless and frail teenager that seemed as if he needed constant protection, and the next, he was a stubborn and headstrong teen. Impulsive and reckless almost. It almost made him wonder how he was able to sucker someone like him into freeing him from his limestone seal back in the Forest of Senshi?

"Fine. I will accompany you to school. Then you'll have to owe me something. That's how a contract works. I scratch your back, you scratch mine, understand?" Zack inquired in a near accusatory manner.

"Deal." Cloud responded, dropping the haughty act from earlier and falling into more of his quiet and near insecure demeanor.

A silence settled over the two in the moment. The only noise audible was their own quiet breathing and an ear ringing pause of silence. The AC sputtered up, groaning and moaning before getting to work in cooling the room and the rest of the house down. The shapeshifter flicked his tail from side to side and his ears twitched on occasion. Other than that, the two remained quiet and stationary. The blonde took a quick glance at the time, only to realize it was nearly two in the morning. He needed sleep desperately.

"Alright, I need to get some sleep." Cloud spoke up as he flicked on another switch right beside the one that turned the ceiling light on.

The switch made fan blades attached to the ceiling lights begin to spin slowly in the beginning, then they picked up the pace to circle quite quickly. It gave the bedroom an extra cool wind to circulate. The fur on the shifter's tail pooled out and an involuntary shiver racked around his body. The blonde made his way back to the closet and opened up the door. He shut the door behind him when he disappeared inside it. This spiked the Tasonosenshi's curiosity.

"What are you doing?" He asked aloud.

"Changing! I'm not sleeping in these dirty clothes!" The seventeen year old shouted back, raising his voice so it would be heard from behind the closet door and over the _whoosh_ noise of the ceiling fan.

For some strange reason, that thought alone caused the shifter to blush. What on Gaia was he thinking anyway? He shook his head and the jingling noise on the collar started up again. There was a bell attached to this accursed contraption. Out of all things the blonde could have marked him with, he chose a collar? That damaged his pride as a fearsome Tasonosenshi a bit. He felt more like a common house pet with this silly thing! Yet beyond that, he did not question it any further.

The blonde opened up the closet door and stepped out, dirt pressed clothes from earlier balled up in his hands. He was wearing nothing more than a loose white t shirt and black silk shorts ending two inches above his knees. He tossed the ball of clothes into a small white basket beside his bedroom door, then pulled his arms above his head in a stretch. He went over to the small lamp beside his bed, clicking it on before making his way over to the two switches and turned the ceiling light off. He then made his way over to the bed only to find that the shapeshifter was staring at him.

"What?" He asked as he made his way onto his bed, sitting on it crisscross.

"Nothing!" The ravenette quickly protested, pulling his eyes away from the blonde as he looked at the blue colored sheets instead.

"Well, whatever I guess." Cloud muttered to himself as he pulled the blankets up and over his body, lightly pulling the shifter with him.

No longer liking the amount of cold air in the room, Zack changed form to his wolf appearance, the midnight black fur instantly covering his transformed body with a soothing warmth. He could still feel the cool air ruffle at his fur, but it wasn't as bad as before. He situated himself on the foot of the bed, hoping the blonde wouldn't mind him sleeping on the bed as long as he was in this form. He turned in a circle two times before resting his head in his paws. His bushy tail curled around his hind legs and his ears were slightly down.

"Goodnight, Zack." Cloud spoke before he reached over and turned the small lamp off, coating the room in soft darkness.

"Goodnight to you as well." The ravenette responded, closing his beady blue wolfish eyes for the night.

The room was nice and cool as the shapeshifter slumbered, and his fur kept him nice and warm. It was the perfect balance of cool and warm. Not only that, but the blonde allowed him to sleep on the bed and didn't chide him for doing so. His other Masters all had him sleep in the floor. None of them even told him goodnight like the blonde had done for him. Definitely different from the rest. He knew he hadn't slumbered for long, but a strange noise had awoken him sometime in the night.

He gently lifted his head up from his paws and blinked his wolfish eyes, glancing around the room to try and locate the sound through sleep coated senses. A quick look at the clock told him it was only three twenty-eight in the morning, so they hadn't been sleeping for very long. It was silent again, the noise had vanished. A soft growl escaped his snout as he laid his head back down, not sensing anything wrong. As soon as his eyes closed once more that noise sprang back to life, still quiet as could be though.

He pulled his head up once more, eyes narrowed at what the heck it was and what was causing it. It was silent once more and he thought about laying his head back down again. Before he could, it happened again, then once more. His head turned towards the source of the sound, realizing it was coming from the front of the bed. Now that the sleep had left his eyes and became more alert, the room wasn't so dark for his enhanced vision. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw the blonde shifting in his sleep and whimpering. That's what the sound had been.

He rose to his feet, gently padding his way across the lumpy figure of the blonde hunkered under thick covers. He stopped his advance when he was right beside the blonde's head. He leaned in slightly to get a look at his face. It was screwed up in the fear that only a nightmare could bring. Yet he still whimpered like he was scared or injured. His mouth twitched slightly, but no words escaped. Just whining that got a little louder.

Zack gently laid himself down next to the blonde, resting his wolfish head on the crook of his neck, growling softly. At that, the blonde's whimpers died away and he rolled over on his other side, closed eyes facing the shifter now. His arm unraveled itself from the blanket and drooped over the ravenette's furry body, then gently pulled him closer in his sleep.

That had been the best sleep the shapeshifter had gotten in decades...

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A/N: And there's chapter three for you guys! Hope you enjoyed it! :) Well, don't be afraid to leave me some feedback, it's greatly appreciated! If you have any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them :p

Well, until the next chapter my good readers!

Toodles! :3

~Zimithrus1


	4. School Mornings

Alright! Here's chapter four of Transmogrify! How do you guys like it so far? Good, I hope? :) Well, since I really don't know what else to say up here, enjoy what's simmering down below! :D

2-2-16: Chapter has been revised and combed through :) errors have been fixed as well as any weird phrasing or unnecessary commas.

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~School Mornings~

A furious beeping sound awoke Cloud from deep sleep. His bleary eyes cracked open once, squinting as they adjusted to the amount of early morning light flooding in through his window. The beeping grew louder as his senses recovered from deep sleep and became more accurate and sharp. He opened his eyes all the way as a drawled yawn escaped from his mouth. He reached out his arm from the thick covers to turn his alarm clock off, but he paused in mid-action and his sky blue eyes bulged.

Zack was cuddled up to him in his wolf form. His big furry head was nestled below the blonde's own, and his warm breath exhaled onto the seventeen year old's neck, sending shivers up and down his neck and arms. Feeling suddenly embarrassed and somehow feeling personally invaded, he used his hands and shoved the big wolf away from him.

The large beast toppled out of the bed and hit the floor with a hard thud. The bell collar around his neck jingled softly when he hit the ground. Cloud cringed from the sound and felt bad. He didn't mean to push the ravenette out of his bed, he just needed some space!

The shifter awoke with a low growl and a harsh groan. His wolfish head peaked up towards the blonde and his beady blue eyes were glaring daggers at him. He jumped back onto the bed, a rumbling growl churning in his throat as he barely parted his wolfish jaws. He bared his teeth at the teen and stopped just inches in front of his face. He stopped growling for only a moment, but those blue fiery eyes still burned blue cinders at him.

"Did you...Just push me off the bed?" Zack demanded with a low growl.

"N-No! Well, I mean, kinda? I just needed some space because you were too close to me! Well, I felt a bit like my personal space was invaded and seeing you there just-" Cloud began to ramble.

His rambling was cut short when the shapeshifter jumped onto his chest, stealing the air right out of the lithe body below him. To add pressure, the ravenette flopped his bulky wolf form down and rested his muzzle in his front paws. A wolf like chortle escaped from his snout when he heard the blonde wheeze and grunt, trying to squirm away from the heavy beast.

"For your information, Master, _you_ were the one who reached out to _me_ last night. So stop the ear screeching squabbling, will you?" Zack monotonously drawled, a big yawn screeching from parted snout as a little canine whine followed the good feeling yawn.

"_Get. Off. Of. Me!_" Cloud grunted, trying to push the shifter off him.

"No... I don't think I will." The ravenette wolf responded.

"If you don't get off me I'll feed you _dog food_ for breakfast!" Cloud threatened, now resorting to pulling on the shapeshifter's fuzzy ears.

Instantly, Zack jumped off of him and gracefully touched down on the carpet on all fours. That little bell on his collar jingled once more with the motion. The blonde was finally able to reach over and shut the beeping alarm clock off. Soothing silence reigned over the small bedroom as the teen sat up and stretched. He rubbed his eyes with his hands as another yawn slipped past his slightly parted lips. He really hated mornings, especially on school days.

Cloud tossed the covers from his body and stood up from the now messy bed. He stretched one more time, pulling his arms above his head for a few seconds. He pulled them back down and shook his head, trying to see if he could shake the sleep out of him. His clothes were crinkled and folded in only creases that one in slumber could make. He smoothed out his shirt and shorts and then made his way over towards the splintering closet door. Zack trotted up next to him and peered inside the small dark space.

The blonde's eyes scanned through what little choice of clothes he had, sighing softly to himself when he realized he didn't have all that much. If only he was strong enough to protect himself he wouldn't be ending up in the hospital once every other week. If that was the case, then his mother wouldn't be burdened by her son's hospital bills. She worked hard at what she did, cleaning hotels and such. The pay was never good and every penny she earned went to her son.

Snorting at his inner thoughts, he quickly yanked a shirt off one of the hangers and spun on his heel. He shut the door in everything but a quiet manner. The Tasonosenshi watched his Master move and he could tell by body language alone that he wasn't in all of a good mood this morning. Was this what it was like every morning for him? Was this all because of that Deepground gang the blonde often mentioned? Suddenly, thinking about how that group caused his Master misery just made his blood boil.

The wolf was brought out of his stupor when he heard a soft clunk from a dresser drawer. He pivoted his head towards the sound as he sat on his haunches by the closest door. He felt as if he needed to keep to his own space this morning. Cloud had pulled out a pair of black denim jeans and tossed them aside on the messy bed. He closed the drawer second from the top and then opened the one right below it. He pulled out a pair of plan white socks and tossed them to the bed as well.

Zack noticed that the blonde's face was solemn and sulky. His eyes were downcast and a slight frown was tugging at the corners of his bow-shaped lips. He sat himself down on the bed right next to the clothes he had picked out for the day. He pulled his legs up to his chest and put on the plain socks. He looked lost in his thoughts. His eyes were hazy, as if a memory was playing in them right now. He brought his legs back down towards the carpet and sat there for a moment, delicate hands tenderly folded in his lap.

The ravenette whined at Cloud, getting back up on his paws and trotting over towards him. He paused right in front of his Master with his beady blue eyes looking up at him in a bout of concern. It seemed as if he went unnoticed, for the teen did not move an inch as his eyes remained downcast. The shapeshifter sat on his haunches once more and gently rested his head in the blonde's lap, right below his neatly clasped hands.

This time, the blonde looked at him. His eyes snapped back as that haze around them vanished. A small and soft smile gently pulled at the corners of his lips and his right hand went to rest against the shifter's head. He gently scratched behind the wolf's ears. Zack's fuzzy tail began to wag back and forth and a canine smirk tugged at his snout ever so faintly. When the blonde stopped scratching behind the ravenette's ears he reached over and grabbed his pants.

The Shapeshifter got the memo and made his way towards the front door, flopping down on the floor and resting his front paws over his eyes to give the teen some privacy while he changed. He heard Cloud softly chuckle, and with that, the blonde started to get ready for the school day ahead. With every noise the seventeen-year-old made, it caused the wolf's ears to twitch along with his tail. It took no more than ten minutes for him to change his clothes.

The wolf turned back around when he heard that it was safe to look. His tail had been wagging, but when he saw the blonde, it stopped right in its tracks. Even though the attire had been rather simple and plain, it still caused the shapeshifter to stare. The teen had dressed himself in a red plaid over shirt with sleeves ending an inch or two past his elbows and a charcoal gray shirt underneath it. The pants were still that black denim, but really looking at it, the shirt was too big and the pants were tight on him and casted more of a girlish figure on the blonde.

It was nearly alluring, but the Tasonosenshi got ahold of himself and shook his head around as if he had just gotten out of a bath. The bell attached to his collar jingled with his shaking. He didn't need to be thinking thoughts like that about his Master! It just wasn't right! It was certainly not okay for a shapeshifter such as his caliber!

"Alright, let's go see what we can fix for breakfast this morning." Cloud stated, making his way towards the bedroom door that lead to the rest of the house.

With that, Zack rose on all fours and quickly dashed out of the room as soon as the old door opened up. He let his Master catch up and when he did he trotted beside the teen. The wolf could smell something delectable coming from the kitchen of the small and rather cramped house. A different array of spices flooded the house. The shifter could deduct traces of clove and black pepper along with a hint of nutmeg. His Master's mother must be cooking something up right about now! Realizing this, the shifter eagerly ran into the kitchen and barked.

At the sound of his bark, Cloud's mother jumped slightly. Her right hand instantly rested over her heart and she looked down at Zack. The Tasonosenshi wagged his tail and allowed his tongue to hang from his mouth as he panted, much like a common dog.

"My! I almost forgot you were here!" She exclaimed breathlessly. She took a minute to recompose herself. Then a puzzled look crossed her face for a moment as her eyebrows scrunched together. "Wait, wasn't he supposed to be outside?" She remembered, her tone snipped.

She quickly glanced up and immediately locked eyes with her son, whom was giving him a mix of an ashamed look and one akin to that of a deer in the headlights. She hardened that stare at her kin, wanting to pull the answer straight from his mouth without a need to further ask.

"Well, he kept clawing at the door and whining when I put him out, so I brought him in." Cloud lied, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

The blonde woman could easily see through that lie. However, a glance over his person and one towards the wild animal wagging his tail like a common dog curbed her disapproval of the situation. Her son was unharmed and the wolf seemed to be behaving properly. As much as the thought unnerved her, she decided to let it slide for the moment and would bring it back up at a later time.

"Mom, what are you doing up so early in the morning?" Cloud asked, directing her attention away from Zack and back towards him again.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Silly? I'm fixing you some breakfast." She teased, her playful demeanor returning.

"You know how I feel about that. You work late at night, you need to get more than just five hours of sleep. It's not good for your health." The blonde teen seemed to chide, acting more like the parent for a split second.

"Don't you worry about me, Honey. You know I never mind." She responded, not missing a single beat as she gave him a reassuring wink with her left eye.

The blonde haired woman turned her attention back to the skillet on the stove. She gripped it by the handle and pushed it back and forth across the burner to stir up whatever was cooking inside. As she checked that, she reached up into the cabinet above her and pulled down another container of seasonings. She lightly sprinkled the ingredient into the food simmering down below. She put the container where it went and closed the little door.

"So it's omelets for breakfast?" Cloud asked as he walked over and took a peek into the skillet.

"Not only that, but a banana and a small bran muffin. I have those sitting out by the table. Anyways, help yourself to any kind of beverage in the fridge." She added, gesturing to the white appliance littered with old drawings, photos, and even those magnets shaped like the letters of the alphabet.

The blonde opened up the fridge door and peered inside to see what they had to drink. Zack on the other hand, got a better glimpse at what was on the fridge. The alphabet magnets had the words 'I love you', except love was spelled 'luv'. It looked as if it had been arranged like that a long time ago and no one ever changed it. The magnets were all different colors too, contrasting what looked like a rainbow of specified words.

A yellow letter 'Z' magnet was holding up an old drawing of a tiger and some flowers that were probably taller than the animal itself. There was a tree in the background as well and the old paper looked to have been colored on in crayons. The shifter inferred that the drawing must have been doodled by his Master when he was rather young. Cloud pulled a gallon of milk out of the fridge and closed the door behind him, his eyes lingering on the picture for a moment before he softly scoffed.

"Mom, when are you going to take that dumb drawing down?" He asked as he made his way over to the table where and empty glass sat. He twisted the cap of the gallon of milk and steadily poured it into the glass.

"Never, of course! Why would I take a picture down that my baby drew me? You put your little heart and soul into it just so I could have a good Mother's Day present!" The woman exclaimed, her eyes briefly glancing towards the artwork as a smile slithered across her face coyly.

"Because it's old and terrible?" Cloud suggested as he finished filling his glass up with the opaque liquid and twisted the cap back onto the carton.

"You were four years old! It's _cute_!" She playfully argued back, turning the burner off as the eggs finished their timed cooking.

Zack wolfishly chortled from his spot by the kitchen table and his tail began to wag.

"Shut up, you." Cloud grumbled as he put the milk away.

A low growl grumbled around in the wolf's throat as his tail slapped at the linoleum instead.

The blonde's mother brought over the skillet and dumped one of them omelets onto her son's plate, then the other for herself right next to him on the right side. It was a circular table and a rather small one at that. The seventeen year old returned from the kitchen and more towards the dining room where the table was located. He took a seat where he usually did and sipped at his glass of milk. His mother smiled, then looked over at the large black dog.

Her eyes of sky blue looked the wolf up and down, a bit wary at how he was eyeing the food. He was still wild and was probably used to eating things like raw meat and carcass. She didn't want him to start developing a taste for human food while he was in their care. Dog food was much cheaper than tacking on more items to a grocery list.

"Alright, at least when we have breakfast I want him to be outside. I don't do well with begging animals, wild ones no less." She stated out loud so her son would hear her.

Zack instantly began to whine as if he was trying to explain that he was innocent and wouldn't eat the food. But the firm eyes of his Master's mother made him silent. He followed her to the sliding glass door in the back of the living room and she slid it open. Without protest, the wolf trotted outside with flattened ears and roughly plopped himself down on his haunches against the concrete patio. When she closed the door, the blonde boy spoke up.

"I don't think he'll cause any trouble, he couldn't at least sit in the living room?" Cloud asked, eyes gazing over to the closed glass door.

"You're lucky enough I let you lie to me and have that wild animal sleep in the same room as you." The blonde responded as she sat down at the kitchen table with her seventeen-year-old.

She did have a point, even though Zack wasn't really a wolf. Even though his mother did have a large heart and was very caring, she did have her limitations. It wasn't often that the blonde brought home strays or animals of some sorts. Last time he did, he was about eight-years-old and had found a turtle in his backyard. He put it in the bathtub without telling his mother. She was in for a heart attack that morning when she saw a snapping turtle swimming in the only bathtub they had. He had to let it go after a harsh scolding.

"Although, he does need something to eat. Do you think he could adjust to dog food?" She asked, bringing the blonde beside her out of his stupor.

At that, there was some loud whining by the back sliding door as if the wolf was protesting against it. Both blondes turned and looked towards the door to see the animal had flattened ears against his head and his tail tucked in between in back legs.

"I think that's a 'no'." Cloud voiced, still looking at the helpless shapeshifter. In retrospect, he wasn't all that helpless.

In the end, the wolf ended up getting a few bites of omelet from Cloud's mother all the while how she said that it would be just this once. She also said that he better acquire a taste for some kind of animal food, cause that's all he was going to get.

Cloud almost had to keep from chuckling when the wolf began to bark and make it sound like he was saying 'no' with a heavy wolfish dialect.

* * *

"No. You are _not_ going to school in those clothes. You'll look like a freak." Cloud spoke once he and Zack were outside the house and already down the street.

When disappearing from sight of the worn-down house, the shifter had changed back into his more humanoid form. Those bandages had covered his arms and legs again and that sleeveless black turtleneck that cut off just an inch or two above his navel. But even the midriff was bandaged up too. It was the same with those weird pants that cut off just below his knees that flared out, save for the fabric wrapped snug around his legs. His wolfish ears and tail were still visible too.

"But I like these clothes. They regenerate when I change in and out of my wolf form. Normal clothes don't." Zack brought up, pulling at the shirt with his right hand.

"Like you're going to be a wolf at school. You'll have to stay in this form until we get home. Now, I'm going to run home and grab some clothes for you." Cloud spoke, getting ready to turn on his heel and run back.

"Uh, no. I'll do it myself. God knows what you'll pick out for me." The ravenette chided, beginning to tease the blonde again.

"I'm doing it, so stay here! That's an order." The blonde retorted as he stuck his tongue out at the Tasonosenshi. He then turned around and dashed back in the direction of his house. His black messenger bag that he used to keep his school supplies in bounced alongside him as he ran.

"_That little_-" Zack growled, folding his arms across his chest as he huffed out through his nose impatiently. His tail flicked in annoyance and his ears had flattened to his head.

Then he got to thinking. He was going to a _human_ school. Humans did not have tails or wolf ears. How in Odin's name was he going to hide his appendages from the mortals? Duh, he could just generate some human ears and hide his tail. He was a Tasonosenshi, a shapeshifter. Shifters could change their body into whatever they desired as long as it was close to their home shape. He could look like any human or animal that he chose.

He closed his eyes, standing there for a few moments in the quiet and foggy autumn morning. He concentrated with a small amount of might to see if he could make his ears and tail sink back into his skin and apply the changes that needed to be made. Granted, he had never had to do this before and had been born with appendages like these. He used to play around with shifting once upon a time and would always keep his tail and ears out.

It was uncomfortable to do as he focused, but slowly, he could feel his ears sink onto his skin. In its place, more humanoid ears formed on either side of his head. He could tell already that these human ears were weird. He still had his acute sense of hearing, but it was slightly masked due to the flesh around it. With a little bit more concentration, he was able to make his tail shrink away into his skin. It felt very strange to shift and not feel it sway behind him. But he would have to adjust, at least for the day.

Just as he finished and opened his eyes again, he could see Cloud running back up towards the intersection he had been left at. He had a bundle of large clothes in his arms as he ran. At first, the blonde had been hard to see in this thick fog, but as he got closer, the shifter could tell it was him. Mostly due to that gravitationally challenged hair of his. His Master crossed the street and into the grass where he was standing. He was a bit pink in the face from that running and his breaths were a bit raspy as well. When he recovered from his sprint he held the clothes out for the shifter to take.

"Everything in my closet was too small, so I looked through mom's closet instead and found some of my father's old outfits pushed to the back. I picked out the one he wore the least, but still, don't ruin it. All we have left of him is his clothes and a folded flag." Cloud explained.

"I'll be careful, I promise." Zack responded sincerely and rather quickly. Hearing the blonde talk about his father just seemed to upset the ravenette somehow. Loosing someone or something important to you was always painful.

He knew that firsthand.

The Tasonosenshi did a double-take on the environment around him. Not wanting to be spotted changing by people in cars or walking to school, he quickly scampered behind the cover of two weeping willows grown closely to one another. In fact, just four feet off the ground they intertwined together to form one mighty weeping willow. It was an old tree, but still healthy. It's double compound leaves draped across the ground and gently blew in the faintest of breezes.

Feeling a bit uneasy standing out in a thick fog like this alone, Cloud wordlessly and near noiselessly followed the shapeshifter under the safety of the leaves of the mighty trees. He looked behind him as the thick leaves fell back down and gave him some cover. Somehow, it made him smirk. He turned his head around with that smirk still on his face, but it fell when he saw the ravenette.

At first, he thought he should immediately look away due to privacy and the fact that he himself was growing embarrassed, but his eyes would not tear away. Zack had removed the turtleneck half shirt and had it crumpled on the ground and a large mass of bandages was heaped next to it. The blonde saw beauty in the toned body in front of him, but also saw lingering pain. There were thick and deep scars running all across his chest and stomach. There were even scars at his shoulders and back of his neck even as that collar was still wrapped around it. A beautiful disaster was the perfect way to describe him right now.

Zack's blue eyes quickly looked back towards Cloud only to find him standing and staring at him like some dumbstruck girl looking at her crush for the first time. The blonde quickly looked away, turning his back and staring at the veil of leaves from the weeping willows. His mouth started muttering excuses and pointless chatter as he fidgeted on spot. This only caused the shapeshifter to chuckle in a throaty manner as he slipped the long sleeved shirt on.

"Like what you saw?" Zack teased as he removed his pants and bandages around his legs next.

He heard his Master squeak and began to ramble with no direction, almost as if trying to avoid the somewhat rhetorical question. He uttered about how it was a trick question, kind of like the trick questions they put on the tests in his English III class. This only caused the shifter to laugh a little louder as he changed into the pants and even the shoes provided to him. When he finished changing, he stepped out from the cover of the weeping willows with his old clothes and bandages in hand.

He had to admit, the blonde did pick him out some clothes that were decent enough for him to wear. On the front of the black long sleeved shirt, there was an old broken down Ferris wheel in a dreary and run down amusement park. Below that, in cursive print, read the words 'Welcome to the circus'. In smaller print, the words 'Dear Child' were just below the bigger ones There were some tour dates on the back of the shirt. Must have been a band. Black cargo pants with a multitude of pockets complimented the shirt. The shoes were scuffed and worn down Converse.

"Hey, you can stick your old clothes in my school bag. There's plenty of room for them." Cloud spoke up as he made his way out of the foliage of the weeping willows.

"Alright." Zack responded, balling up the material and handing it over to the teen.

The blonde opened up his bag and stuffed the clothes and bandages inside. The wind picked up slightly and the fog got a little thicker. Then realization hit the seventeen year old.

"I hope we haven't missed the bus yet! Come on, it's just another block away!" Cloud exclaimed, taking off in a hurry.

The shifter was going to speak up, but decided against it seeing how much of a hurry the blonde was in. So he rushed after without a word. He was able to keep up with the teen, but he had to restrain himself from running too fast.

After all, he didn't know where the stop was, now did he?

* * *

A/N: And there's where I'm stopping this chapter for now! :p I noticed it was starting to get a little lengthy, so I put a cork in it and put it on the shelf for now! XD Don't worry, it shall be uncorked ASAP! :D

Anyways, I'll see you all in the next chapter! And as always...

Toodles!

~Zimithrus1


	5. New Student

Alrighty, here's chapter five of Transmogrify! :D The long awaited school scene has finally arrived! :p I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

2-2-16: Chapter had been revised and looked over. Spelling errors have been caught and fixed, as well as any plot holes along the way, I even added some detail to the fight(?) down below :)

* * *

~Routine ~

The bus had yet to arrive as Cloud and Zack had finally reached the stop -which happened to be about a good four blocks away from his beaten down house. The stop was at a three-way intersection right in front of the sign that posted the street names on top. The blonde seemed a little winded from the sprint in the cool and foggy weather while the Nightcrawler seemed neutral and looked to have not even broken a tiny sweat.

The fog had increased since the stop at the willow tree, which made visibility lessen by a bit. There was some faint dew mixed in with the moistened air that brought a certain kind of relief from the quick sprint. The grass below had been just as wet as the air and had the bottom of their shoes coated in splotches of morning dew. The three others kids at the bus-stop looked Zack up and down but didn't even give Cloud so much as a second glance.

The shifter could deduce there were two boys and one girl from their stand-offish position. The single female had dim red hair pulled up into loose ponytail. She had on thin red-rimmed glasses fixed on the bridge of her nose and also had a pair of sparkling deep green eyes. Those eyes didn't look very nice though. She was dressed in a large maroon jacket and a long black skirt that cut of at her ankles where plain white shoes decorated her feet.

One of the boys had thick black hair that fell into his face and masked his right eye. His visible left eye was a dark almond brown. A few freckles were dotted right under his visible eye. He was the tallest of the three, but still shorter than the Nightcrawler by a good three inches. He was wearing a long black jacket with tears and patches all over it. His pants were black and baggy and his shoes were not visible.

The last boy had light brown hair with eyes of equal hue. He was just about as short as Cloud, but was still just a tad bit taller in the end. His jacket did not swarm his body but fit nicely. It was a deep blue color and his hands were stuffed into his pockets. Underneath, his shirt was black, and his pants were a dark grey. He had plain skater shoes on as well. Each of the teens continued to stare at both the blonde and the Nightcrawler incognito.

The ravenette didn't like the way the three were looking at him or his Master. He shot them all a glare and a warning growl. The three stopped looking in anything but a hurry. While their eyes were no longer the subject of sight, their mouths told a different story as they whispered lowly to one another. The blonde heaved a tired sigh and adjusted the strap of his messenger bag, pretending not to hear them talk about him or his Contractor. The ravenette came to the quick conclusion that the three must not have a liking to the young and timid teen.

"If you got a problem with me then say it to my face!" Zack barked, taking a step towards them as he cracked his knuckles in his right hand in a threatening matter.

The red-head girl and the brown-haired boy backed off and stopped their silent conversation, but the black-haired one only hardened his eyes. He took a step forward towards the Shapeshifter and copied the annoyed look on his face.

"And who the Hell do you think you are? Since when did you start coming to this stop anyways, _Blackie_?" The boy challenged as he paid close attention to the dog collar around the Shapeshifter's neck.

Zack however, just puffed his chest out and crossed his arms over it, replacing his annoyed look with a smug and cocky one. "None of your business, Patches. I just have a problem with people that look at me the wrong way."

"If that's the case then I wouldn't be standing next to that freak beside you, he rubs _everyone_ the wrong way." The girl in the group unnecessarily chimed, trying to get the attention off her friend and towards the social outcast.

"You better leave Cloud out of this. Otherwise, I'll kill you." Zack threatened voicing his threat to the entire group. He'd do much as slaughter them just for _looking_ at him like they had, but he knew his Master wouldn't like that.

"Oh what, that pussy can't stand up to anyone, so he hires someone who can fight for him?" 'Patches' snorted, glancing roughly over at the blonde.

Cloud quickly averted gaze from the taller boy and gripped the strap of his messenger back, pretending he didn't hear that as his eyebrows knit together in aggravation. He shifted his weight further to his right side and found an interest staring at the dew drops on the blades of grass below his feet.

Zack did not like that comment one bit. Quicker than a flash of lightning, the taller ravenette had the patched-coated boy hoisted up into the air by the color of his shirt. The girl let out a frightened squeal as the other boy backed off with a loud gasp. Patches writhed in the air helplessly while the blonde's head snapped up quickly to assess what his contractor had done.

The Shapeshifter had his lips curled back to reveal teeth too long to be considered human. A throaty growl echoed from the back of his throat as he tightened the grip on the younger boy's shirt, not able to fight back the grin that curled around his lips through the snarl at the young one's fright.

"_Oh my God, what the fuck is going on!?_" The girl shrieked as she cowered next to her equally shocked friend whom remained speechless and scared.

"Talk to my kin like that again and I will not hesitate for even a second to eliminate you." The Tasonosenshi growled, baring his fangs a bit more as he chuckled darkly, etching it into the boy's head that he'd get him otherwise. He even went as far as cracking his knuckles in his left hand.

"Zack, put him down." Cloud muttered, hardly a voice behind his command.

Instantly, Patch-boy was released from the iron grip that held him up. He quickly scampered a few feet back from the taller ravenette, his brown eyes wide in fright. The other two had similar looks on their faces, but dare not speak another word or utter another sound. They had learned their lesson already.

Silence reigned once more over the small intersection while the three started at the disguised shapeshifter in fear. The fog had remained the same in consistency, not letting up or getting any worse. Visibility was still poor at best. A single white car drove past them before disappearing into the fog once more. Cloud kept his head turned to the side. While he may no longer be looking down at the ground or the three bullies, he made sure to keep from looking at _anyone_ as he still kept a firm grip on his messenger bag. He knew only more of this was in store for him throughout the rest of the day.

Zack attempted to help, but his version of that assistance was a little bit too brutish. The blonde was almost regretting making the shifter come to school with him by now.

A rough acceleration was heard in the nearby distance as well as squealy brakes that had the nightcrawler flinch before anyone else. Even with his more humanoid ears he generated, those brakes were still ear-piercing. Dim yellow lights split through the fog and made its way towards the group of five at the stop. The large yellow bus began to slow to a stop as it pulled its way out of the thick fog. It screeched to a halt in front of Patches and the doors opened up shortly after. The boy wasted no time in hurrying onto the bus. The girl and other boy followed suit after the black-haired boy.

Cloud boarded next, throwing a soft 'Come on', over his shoulder. Zack followed without protest, keeping close to his Master's side. He followed the blonde up the very steep steps that almost had him tripping, then turned his head only to be revolted. The bus was packed and rowdy. Good Gaia he smelled something so old and foul in the air it had to have been stale food. But then again, with all these delinquent teenagers, it was more than likely old after-sex.

"Excuse me young man, do you live in this neighborhood?" A rough yet feeble voice spoke up.

Zack's head swiveled over to the right where an elderly man sat. He was obviously the man who drove this large vehicle. He had a navy blue baseball cap on, some kind of little league insignia stitched to the front. His hair was like damaged straw and shot out from under the hat as if he was been electrocuted. He had a large amount of bright grey -nearly white- facial hair. His dull silver eyes looked so gentle and kind. The Shapeshifter could feel a pleasant aura radiating off of this old man. Sensing no danger from him, the Nightcrawler flipped on his nice side.

"Actually, my parents died recently and I chose to live with my aunt. She lives in this neighborhood and set up my school registration. I think she might have forgotten to inform the school about the bus route." Zack spoke, not missing a beat.

"Alright, that's all I need to know. You go ahead and find a seat. Have a nice morning, okay?" The old man spoke with a practiced smile.

"I shall. Thank you for your kindness." The ravenette finished, giving a small bow to the elderly man before walking down the cramped and way too tiny aisle.

He caught sight of Cloud sitting in a vacant seat about three rows down on the left side. He was sitting closer to the window and his blue eyes followed his Contractor as he made his way to the old seat and plopped himself down.

"Didn't know you could lie so well." The blonde mused with a soft smirk as the bus closed its' doors and lurched forward slowly. His mood had lightened from earlier, if only by a little bit.

"Please. Give me some credit, Cloud. I'm a Shapeshifter. There are many things I can do with _ease_." Zack boasted, an air of pride swelling in his head like a balloon. A big grin consumed his face and his fangs showed through.

"Alright, at school, you can't smile like that. People will think you're some kind of freak." The seventeen-year-old informed, cautiously bringing up a finger to poke at the sharp looking fang.

"But I already am." Zack seductively growled, pretending to nip at Cloud's extended finger.

"True-" Cloud responded, jumping slightly when he was snipped at. He retracted his curious index finger and folded his hands in his lap loosely. "-And don't do that to me. I was just curious." He added on, giving the Nightcrawler a sideways glance.

"Anything else you're curious about?" The ravenette mused, slowly looking up through unnaturally long eyelashes in a provocative manner.

A bright rubicund blush burst across Cloud's cheeks as his pupils dilated for only a second in what looked to be pure horror. Of course, his reaction made the Tasonosenshi smirk even wider. It was so much fun to see his Master get so riled up. He could never make his previous Masters act like this before. It was probably because the boy was so young. And let's face it, probably never even discovered what or who he was romantically interested in.

" Well, I-..._f_-_Forget I even asked_!" The blonde sputtered, tearing his eyes away from the Shapeshifter to glue themselves to the scenery out the window.

"Well, you looked quite curious about the scars on my body earlier. Anything else about my body you're curious about?" Zack purred against his Master's ear as he chuckled deeply.

"No, no, no! Absolutely _not_! Hey! _Back up_ would you? You're in my personal space! _God_, is it hot in here, or is it just me?" Cloud babbled as the blush across his cheeks flourished to the rest of his face, even his neck.

"You look cute when you sputter like a nervous love-struck boy." The ravenette egged on, deeply chuckling against the blonde's ear.

"I do _not_ sputter like a love-struck boy!" Cloud exclaimed in an accusatory manner.

By this time, the entire bus had stopped whatever they were doing to look over towards the seventeen year old. Even the elderly bus-driver popped his dull eyes up to look in the mirror. He had a quirky little grin on his face as he lightly shook his head and went back to driving. The blonde was no longer a rosy red color, but had now flushed into a deep beet red color. He slowly sunk down in his seat and groaned weakly.

"Please tell me the entire bus didn't hear that..." He muttered, shaking his head softly as his left hand went up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Then the laughter started up. At first it was just playful snickering, but it soon turned into roars of howling laughter and a few of the kids even pointed towards the blonde as they laughed. One of the kids even shouted,

'Hey Loverboy! Who makes you blubber like that? Your mom?' Then from there, they just started to insult the poor boy.

"You shouldn't deny what you know you do, Strife!"

"Hey! Why don't you sputter like a nervous boy to me?"

"Tell me, when do you sputter like that? When there's a possibility of dick?"

Cloud sunk even lower in his seat, pulling his bag up to his chest as he buried his head into it. At first, Zack thought that the blonde was just embarrassed beyond all belief, but he had been wrong when he saw the boy start to shake like he was going to throw up. He gently leaned closer to the shaking lump that was his Master, the tag on his dog collar jingling ever so slightly. He could see a bit of his face from the shelter of the bag. What he saw drove him to anger.

Cloud's eyes were swelling with moisture as he did his best to hide them. The ravenette could see right through that pitiful attempt to hide his tears. Heck, he could even smell the saltiness to them faintly in the air. Soon, the teasing and insults started to bother the Shapeshifter himself. Just as he was about to raise himself from his seat-

"Quiet back there you hooligans! I don't want to hear _any_ backtalk to anyone on my bus, you hear? Leave the poor kid alone or I will stop this bus right now and make you _walk_ the rest of the way to school!" The old bus driver had spoken up as his voice had taken a tone similar to that of a military officer.

The teenagers instantly piped down at that and left the blonde alone. All that was heard was the acceleration of the diesel engine and the rush of other cars passing the bus. Cloud only brought his head high enough to wipe at his eyes before anyone else could see the accursed moisture in them. From there, he kept his head down and did not raise it up for the rest of the bus trip.

In another set of fifteen minutes, the bus had parked by the school and had opened up the doors. Teenagers stood up to try and race towards the front so they could leave already. As soon as the bus had opened its doors, Cloud was up and out of the bus before anyone else, leaving Zack behind. The raven-haired shifter had to be nudged into other people before being released from the yellow vehicle. He caught sight of his Master speed walking away with his head hung down.

"Hey, wait up!" Zack called, running after the blonde at a speed that wouldn't draw too much attention from the other humans.

Just as he caught up to the smaller teen and reached out for him, his hand was smacked away as the blonde spun on his heel. He had fire burning behind his usually calm blue eyes. His rage had been directed towards the Shapeshifter and he was glaring at no one but him.

"_All of that was your fault!_" He accused harshly, keeping his voice from growing too loud.

"_What_?" Zack asked with disbelief, Cloud's words acting like a punch that just made him pull his head back a bit.

"If you hadn't been antagonizing me like you did, then I wouldn't have been made fun of! Damn it, Zack! _I get that enough_! I brought you here with me so I _wouldn't_ be picked on and you just made it _worse_!" The blonde bit, balling his hands into tightly clenched fists as he forgot about keeping quiet by this point.

"Wait, hold on. Let's not-"

"I'm _done_ talking to you. Just, stay away from me right now." Cloud interrupted. With that, he stormed off down the hall and towards his classroom.

The Shapeshifter just stood there for a few moments, slowly processing what had been said to him. Not able to find any kind of answer after a few moments of muddling around his choice of words from earlier, he just snorted and walked off. He felt more angry all of a sudden and he needed to burn off some steam.

* * *

Cloud stormed his way into his first hour, happening to be English III. He took his seat in the very back of the classroom on the very left row and closest to the front door. He tossed his bag onto his desk after unhooking it from over his shoulder. He rested his arms over it before nestling his face into the coolness of the thick bag. His own words came back to bite him and all it did was make him feel angry and guilty. So much for going around school protected today.

The ravenette really did start it, but in the end, it was himself that overreacted by nearly screaming his accusation on the bus. He clenched his jaw tightly, feeling strain in his facial muscles. He really didn't know what to think in the end.

"There you are, down in the dumps again." A light yet crisp voice spoke up, a light giggle following suit.

Cloud looked up to see one of his only friends sitting at her desk just a row across from the blonde. She had long chocolate brown hair she always kept tied up in a low and loose ponytail. She had her bangs side swept to the left as usual and it draped her face, bringing out the natural hazel glow of her bright brown eyes. Today, she was dressed in a white turtleneck sweatshirt and a tight black skirt that hugged her hips and was definitely shorter than dress code standards. She had on brown lace up boots with black socks bunched up near the ankles.

"Hey, Tifa." Cloud greeted gloomily, keeping his head up and his arms resting over his bag.

"What happened on the bus _this_ morning?" She asked, well knowing it was never good. She propped her elbow up on the desk and rested her face in her delicate hand gently.

"The usual; antagonizing assholes." The blonde responded with a roll of his bloodshot blue eyes.

"Yeah, that's the usual alright." She responded with a light giggle as her eyes flickered in amusement.

Cloud always felt so comfortable about Tifa, like he could tell her almost anything. They had been friends since elementary school and she had stuck by him for all those years. She was the only one who never gave up on him or gave in. She was sweet, yet tough. She practiced martial arts twice a week and could beat just about anyone except Deepground to a pulp, but only because they didn't fight fair while she did.

The bell to start first period rang as all the other students rushed in so they wouldn't be counted tardy. The English teacher followed in after one of the last students, shutting the door behind him. He had long silver hair that flowed down to the small of his back, if not longer. His eyes were a yellow-green chartreuse color.

Today, he was dressed in a plain grey button up shirt and black pants, a long black leather trench coat hung neatly off his shoulders. Cloud always felt intimidated by Sephiroth Crescent, his English III teacher. Even though English was his best subject -not to mention the best in his class- he felt like he needed to be perfect to avoid his teacher's scrutinizing eyes.

English was relatively easy today. They just had a worksheet review over the latest book they read, called "The Woods". It was a page turner that Cloud finished in a week because it was so good. Sadly, because he finished it so soon, he often forgot most of the worksheet questions for a specific chapter.

By the time Cloud finished the worksheet and turned it in, the bell that ended first period began to ring. He gathered up his stuff from his desk while Tifa waited for him by the door. The two had their next period together. It was Botany and Zoology with Professor Hojo. Neither the blonde teen or his friend cared much for that class, but rumor has it that they got to go on a field trip to the zoo by the end of the year. Once, they even watched Bug's Life when a substitute was there. So it wasn't all that bad.

In that class, they had to go outside in the November chill and get samples of pond scum, then observe it under a microscope. Obviously, Cloud and Tifa were always partners when they could be. By the time that class was over, the blonde was already in a better mood and no longer guilty or angry.

After Bot and Zoo, his next class was Algebra II. Which he struggled desperately in. His grade in that class was a low D and it never improved. He did good on the worksheets but bombed every single test. Today, they learned about parabolas and graphing them. Cloud didn't understand a thing and only drew a crab on a graph and called it a 'Parabla-Crabla'.

After Algebra II came his Creative Writing class. Currently, they were working on a small packet of poems that they had to make and color themselves. The blonde had three poems done and decorated, but still had two more to go. When the unit was over, they'd have to present their poems to the class. He made a mental note to catch a cold that day.

After those classes came lunch, which was boring and lonely. None of his friends were in the same lunch as him and he could never find a consistent table. He mostly just ate outside regardless of how cold or hot it was. Anything was better than being teased and ridiculed on the inside then developing numb and cold fingers on the outside.

After lunch came his History class, which was currently learning about the old wars going on between Wutai and Midgar. He was glad he lived in Kalm right now. At least they had vegetation and city goods here. Plus, they had never been in any kind of war before. Yet that made for one uninteresting history class.

The teacher always had good stories though, and often times the subject would switch to how he felt sorry for all his married buddies all tied down to wives and enthused constantly about his old muscle cars. The blonde once had a conversation about his dad's old El Camino with his teacher after class.

After history class was his cooking class. He figured he could help his mother out and take charge of cooking dinner on some nights after school if Deepground left him alone. That didn't happen very often though. His class learned how to make their own hard candy. Though when the bell rang, Cloud accidentally left his behind and didn't go back for it. It tasted more like salt than strawberries anyways.

His last class of the day was Drama III. In this level of acting, he got to act in plays and write his own scripts. He was even able to go to out of city contests and complete at national levels. He first got into acting classes his last year of middle school and he enjoyed the fact he could pretend to be someone else. It was an amazing experience and his teacher, Mr. Rhapsodos, often praised him for being a very skilled actor.

Today, class would be held in the auditorium instead of the classroom. Cloud was eager as he entered the red colored open building. Comfortable chairs extended for what seemed to be a mile, the dim lights on the stage cast a comforting glow on the hardwood floor of the stage beneath it. There was even a few props near the backdrop of a city at night. Mr. Rhapsodos was standing at the front of the stage, waiting for the rest of his class to arrive.

Half of the students were already there and were sitting in the first two rows of the chairs. Cloud found a spare seat near the middle of the front row and waited for class to begin. He had sat next to one of his friends he often practiced lines with. His name was Vincent. He had long black hair and crimson eyes Cloud could have sworn were contacts.

The two didn't talk often, but did have small talk here and there. The ravenette mostly came to life on the stage though. He was as good as Cloud. When the bell rang for seventh period to begin, the teenagers stopped talking and showed their attention towards their teacher.

"Good afternoon class, I asked you to gather here today because we're going to be learning a new play. And yes, it will be performed in front of a live audience. If it's good enough, we'll even take it to contest this semester." Mr. Rhapsodos explained, taking a seat at the edge of the stage as he let his legs dangle over the edge. In his hands, he had the set book to the new play they would be learning.

The red-head held up the flimsy book in his hands. He waved it around for a second with a soft smirk on his face before he spoke, "This year, we will be performing the play called 'Blank'." He explained.

Confused looks were exchanged between the students. Even Cloud and Vincent gave each other the same confused look before snapping their attention back to their teacher.

He was flipping through the book only to find that there were no lines or stage directions in it at all. They were just blank pieces of paper. After he flipped through every last blank page, he sat the book down by his side and his milky blue green eyes scanned over his students.

"This year, you will each team up with a partner and create your own script. I will pick the one I like the most, and the one I like the most will be the play we perform." Mr. Rhapsodos explained, a big grin spreading across his face.

Cloud and Vincent exchanged all-knowing looks to one another, deciding to pair up without the need to voice it.

Once the basics and instructions had been laid down for the play, the bell signaling that school was over rang loud and echoed in the auditorium. The teenagers gathered up their stuff and booked it to the doors so they could leave. The two friends took their time as they discussed what kind of play they would make and how they should call each other tonight to discuss any ideas. Afterwards, the two bid farewell and parted ways outside the large building.

The blonde thought that his day was going to finish strong; no problems in any of his classes, he'd apologize to Zack... Wait, where _was_ he anyway? Cloud hadn't seen him at all since school started. Feeling like that Shapeshifter was his responsibility when they were at school, he started to search for him. He checked outside the campus, near the courtyard, in B hall and C wing too. Soon, he had exhausted most of his options, leaving only G hall unexplored.

Scanning through the halls and peeking into empty classes, he confirmed that the Tasonosenshi was not inside any of the school buildings. He even had a feeling that his Contractor might not even be on campus grounds anymore. He decided to go check by the buses. Maybe he had just stayed there since this morning to avoid any attention. As he was making his way out of one of the halls in G building, a voice from behind him stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Cloudy? What are _you_ doing back here so soon? I was sure we would have put you in the hospital for _weeks_!" A peppy and overjoyed voice sang.

He quickly spun on his heel with his eyes wide in fright. He had forgotten that the Deepground gang's last class was in G hall. Rosso was standing in the front with a big grin on her ruby painted lips. Her smoky grey eye-shadow was done thick over her eyelids. Azul stood tall and towards the back. A huge grin was carved across his face as he cracked his large knuckles. Weiss stood off to the side, his feathery white hair masking his eyes as he smiled sadistically.

Across from Weiss was Nero, his younger twin brother. Nero had never taken part of the blonde's beatings but rather cringed away from them and tended to stay out of it. Most of the time when Deepground found Cloud, he'd excuse himself so he wouldn't have to watch the poor blonde writhe on the ground. By now, most of the crowds had died down in the buildings, all of them going outside to wait for their buses or drive themselves home. It was only the blonde and this band of bullies now.

"Wonder how he healed so fast, what do you think Weiss?" Rosso asked with a gleam in her eyes.

"No clue, but I'm glad he's all better now. I was feeling stressed out today anyways, so this'll be a great relief for me." The white-haired boy explained with a sinister smile.

Without so much as a warning, Azul took that as his cue to dash towards Cloud with speed that such a big guy shouldn't possess. The blonde spun back on his heel and tried to flee as quick as his legs would carry him, but lady luck was never on his side. His shoe snagged against a sticky area of the tile below with a loud squeak, which caused him to loose balance and fall straight to the linoleum below with a flop and a thud.

His head spun and swam with stars as he tried to refocus and remember what he was running from. There was sharp ringing in his ears as he tried to shake sudden black out of the corners of his vision. Once his senses had finally been recollected, it had been too late. Azul gripped the back of Cloud's head by his hair and slammed it down against the tile below. Pain erupted through the blonde's face as it connected with the cool linoleum as he felt blood spew from his nose like biting into a jelly-filled donut.

His hair was released as Cloud writhed for a moment or two, his hands going to shield his busted and bleeding nose.

By this time, Weiss made his way over with a sway to his step and a grin on his face. Azul stepped back from the incapacitated blonde to let the white-haired teen do his dirty work. The incapacitated blonde only had enough time to look up at the older teen in horror with bloodied hands and bloodshot eyes. Swiftly, a booted foot connected to the stronghold of his hands.

The limbs were crushed further into his nose, becoming more of a weapon than a shield. Thick blood poured out a little faster and dribbled down the gaps in his hands to splash against his clothes and the floor. He gasped and whined as tears billowed thick in the corners of his eyes. It didn't take long for them to spill over as the stinging in his face became to severe.

Nero, who had mostly gone unseen and undisturbed dared to stop cowering from the back and glance ahead. Instantly, his eyes connected with Cloud's for a brief moment. In that instant, he could see the pain and the fear pulsing off him like waves and he had to avert his eyes and cower back again. He couldn't help and he couldn't watch either. He could only hear it and do nothing.

Rosso decided to make her move next, stepping beside the fallen blonde and kneeling down to balance on the balls of her feet as she looked at him. Cloud quickly scrambled away from her like a wounded puppy with bad legs: barely able to get off the ground and crashing back down against it after a few seconds. He was at least sitting upright by this point as the blood from his busted nose trailed down his arms like a snake.

"Don't you run away from me little mouse, kitten wants a turn to play~!" The red-head sang sadistically as she just scooted closer to him in her crouched position.

The blonde started to scoot back as fast as he could with one hand helping to guide him while the other protected his bleeding nose. He only stopped hen his back collided with the back wall of G wing's hall.

"_~Hickory-Dikory-dock, the mouse ran up the clock. The cat struck the clock and knocked the rat off and shattered his little neck, hickory-dikory-dock~"_ Rossa sang again as she approached him slowly.

She paused when she was knelt right in front of him, smiling gently for a moment. Then a sneer broke across her face as she pulled her head back and swiftly delivered a direct head-butt straight to Cloud's forehead. The pain in the front of his head was instantaneous, the ache feeling like someone shattered a glass vase with his head. The blonde's hearing was instantly taken away as sharping ringing replaced it. Black swam in his eyes so thick it was like having his eyes closed almost. He could make out fuzzy shapes and blurry colors flashing, but nothing more. Stars complimented the black and danced across the obscuring sheet. His hands slapped down to his sides against the ground as his head began to bob around.

"_Hickory-dikory-dock, the mouse fell off the clock. He couldn't move and the cat ate him up, hickory-dikory-dock~!"_ Rossa chanted gleefully before she flicked his busted nose.

The fresh onslaught of pain caused his vision and hearing to come back all at once and he let out a disgruntled cry, the tears streaming down his face freely now.

'_Please, help me. Zack, please.' _Cloud begged to himself as he fought to keep from crying and sniveling in front of his tormentors.

"Let's do that again!" The red-head girl suggested quickly.

Before any other movements or protests could be made, she snaked her arm behind his head and used all of her force to slam him down against the ground. The wounded area of his forehead connected with the tile and made the blonde jolt like he had a small seizure.

"You're hogging! It's my turn!" Azul grunted before he ran up and kicked the blonde's left temple like a soccer ball.

The force from the kick sent Cloud skidding across the tile, leaving a smeared trail of blood behind him and to his slumped frame. He could barely move by his point, his body reduced to twitching violently. He could hear them advancing towards him again and he knew he had to suffer through another wave again. He closed his eyes tightly and braced for the next upsurge.

Suddenly, everything stopped. Cloud peeled his eyelids back open and blinked a couple of times, glancing up from his fetal position on the ground to see why they had stopped. Zack was crouched over him, snarling like a wolf but still in his human form. He hovered over the blonde's beaten body, growling savagely at Deepground as a lust for kill licked and burned behind his eyes like fire.

The Tasonosenshi's hair was standing on end and his ears were pointed more than they should be, even in the humanoid shape they were in. His curled fingers looked almost like sharp claws or talons, and were his canine teeth longer than before? The three tormentors looked almost horrified and backed away a few steps while Nero finally glanced up with surprise on his face.

"Keep your disgusting hands off my kin!" Zack snarled, baring his sharp fang-like teeth at them.

They all quickly backed away and went through a door that lead outside, not stopping to turn around. The ravenette snorted once in their general direction before easing his way from a defensive crouch over his Master, towards a more friendly position by his side. His fingers gently traced the injuries across the blonde's tainted flesh, observing the damage done in his absence.

Cloud's bloodshot blue eyes looked up towards the Shapeshifter. He could not speak, but was grateful that he had shown up in the nick of time. He wouldn't know what he would have done if he ended up in the hospital again. It would just become one more bill that neither him nor his mother could afford. Those fingers that gently danced across his injured skin slowly began to mend and heal his wounds with his dark magic. The pain in his nose and head had vanished and his senses seemed much more clear than they were before.

The blonde could feel his former strength returning and he decided to sit up slowly. His Contractor watched him carefully as he moved, having to steady out the lithe teen's frame when he slouched back a bit too far while his strength tried to play catch up.

"Thank you." Cloud spoke, his eyes looking over at the ravenette's.

A playful smirk ghosted across Zack's face as he spoke, "I thought you were done talking to me?"

"I'm sorry about that. But besides that, where were you all day?" The blonde inquired, getting up from the floor.

"It's no problem, I'm just teasing. Actually, I found a nice tree by the school gates and took a long nap. It's exhausting to be awake after spending years sealed in sleep." Zack explained as he stretched his arms over his head after standing up.

"How did you find where I was when you weren't even in the school?" Cloud asked incredulously as he too stood up, staggering slightly, but maintaining balance in the end.

"Contracted Nightcrawlers have a special bond with their Masters. When they are in danger, no matter what we happen to be doing, we rush to their aid immediately. We know exactly where our Masters are at all times. Sometimes, we even know what they're doing." The Shapeshifter explained, raising a single eyebrow at the human before him.

Another blush assaulted the blonde's face, but this time, resorted to punching his Contractor's right arm.

"Well enough of that behavior, I think it's time I help make your one wish come true." Zack responded seriously.

* * *

A/N: And that is it! I am done for the day! XD Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I can tell you my shoulder and back don't! :3 Hopefully I can get the next chapter out soon, but we'll see how that goes :p

Well, I'll be seeing you guys in the next chapter!

Sayonara!

~Zimithrus1


	6. Wishes

Woah~! Hey everyone, I'm back! Sorry for the long disappearance and everything, but I've gotten really busy lately and I suffered from some writer's block too, so that wasn't very fun. But I have returned bringing chapter six with me! Without further ado, I'll let you guys get to it, happy reading! :)

* * *

~X[Chapter 6: Wishes]X~

"_No._" Cloud said firmly as his blue eyes locked onto the eyes of his contractor.

"You know it's the perfect place for our training. No one will even _think _of coming in here. Plus, it's secluded and nobody will be able to hear a thing. Even if they do get curious, they aren't just going to barge right in." Zack responded, his azure blue eyes twinkling in the late afternoon light.

"I'm **not **going back in there." The blonde pressed, shaking his head to add emphasis to his denial.

"Yes you are." The ravenette said before he placed his right hand against the small of the seventeen year old's back and pushed him in.

The younger teen stumbled forward as his voice caught in his throat from the shock. He was able to save his balance just in time before he would have stumbled right off a sudden cliff drop. He spun on his heel and glared daggers at the Tasonosenshi. The Shapeshifter just gave him a quirky little grin as if he hadn't done a thing. Honestly, the nerve of him! He was just so infuriating!

After deciding that it was time to make Cloud's wish -in exchange for his soul- come true, Zack insisted that they not ride the bus back home. So the two had walked from the school and to the forbidden Forest of Senshi. The ravenette said that this place would be perfect for the blonde's hand-to-hand fighting and all out training to become stronger, but the younger teen was adamant about not going in there again. So he required a little push.

"Did you have to push me?" Cloud grumbled as Zack stepped through the barrier with ease, no longer fearing it now that he was bonded to a human instead of his limestone prison.

"You needed it, otherwise we would have been standing there all evening." He spoke with a grin as he stopped beside the blonde.

"Whatever..." He responded with a roll of his sky blue eyes.

However, when silence had fallen upon them like a soft blanket, whispers could be heard from deeper inside the decaying forest. Even though he was contracted, they still didn't let up. But then again, it wasn't uncommon in the end. One person could easily release more Nightcrawlers from this place and have them do their bidding. Well, only if their first contractor wasn't possessive and was open for sharing.

Zack's generated human ears twitched as he heard the whispers. Realizing he didn't have to be incognito anymore, he was able to bring out his natural black wolf ears. He couldn't do much with his tail yet since he was still borrowing the clothes of his Master's deceased father. He just let his tail be and would worry about it later. The whispers from the other sealed demons started to cry out louder, like a gentle gnawing on a straw turning into more of a bite and chew.

The ravenette hated this place and every other low level worm sealed inside here. With a deep and throaty growl he grabbed Cloud by his arms and yanked him close to him, broad arms wrapping around the lithe teen as if shielding him.

"Back off! He's _my _Master, and I _Don't _share!" Zack bit, his black ears flattening against his head.

The blonde blushed brightly, feeling an uncomfortable hot chill shoot up and down his body, making the hairs on his arms stand on end as if he was cold. Why did this Shapeshifter get him so agitated and embarrassed all the time? It just wasn't natural! However, the whispers and cries ended up dying down and eventually fading away. Now it just appeared to be a forest right after a fire: Dead and silent, void of any life.

The ravenette let him out of the protective hold with a smug snort to the other demons sealed away. Cloud was a bit wobbly on his feet, but regained his former strength before the cunning Shapeshifter could catch on. Weak in the knees too? Perhaps the ravenette had more charm than he was aware of. Either that, or there were just things going on in his head that he just didn't understand.

"So, where are we going to train at?" Cloud asked, distracting himself from his earlier thoughts.

"Just follow me!" Zack exclaimed, all but hopping down the cliff and landing perfectly on his feet without staggering in the slightest.

"_Just follow me_, he says..." The blonde mocked under his breath before cautiously making his way down the steep dirt cliff side without any over dramatic flair.

"I heard that." The ravenette explained with a playful smile as his ears perked up and twitched slightly.

Cloud decided not to talk to himself for the rest of the trek through the decaying forest.

* * *

The blonde was in absolute shock when he saw where they would commence his training. Rusted playground equipment could be seen scattered through the inner depths of the forest. Chains on a rusted swing set had all but snapped and let the decaying seat of the swing further decompose into the ground. A vacant metal slide was dented and warped from time and negligence. A merry-go-round was tipped, no longer standing upright as half of the old toy was sunk into the dry ground and could no longer spin on its own.

The blues, reds, and greens of the toys had rusted away and left a rotting copper red in its place. Come another few years and this equipment would no longer be able to stand. Cloud spun in a three-sixty degree circle, etching each detail into his eyes. He noticed as he stopped his spin, Zack was gazing at the broken toys with a sad expression burning behind his usually bubbly eyes.

"So you've known this was here all along?" The blonde asked as he stood beside the fearsome Tasonosenshi that appeared to be more human than ever right now.

"You know what this means, right?" The ravenette questioned, not breaking contact with the rusting toys.

"...Human children used to play here."

"Yup. Not just human children either. Nightcrawlers played here too." He responded, gently giving the younger teen a sideways glance before surveying the sorry state of the forgotten playground.

"What? You mean humans and Nightcrawlers coexisted?" Cloud gasped as his jaw dropped.

Zack nodded solemnly. "A long time ago they did, probably about a good three hundred years ago."

"...How old are you?"

"I'd rather not talk about that, we've got more important issues to worry about!" Zack exclaimed, all but throwing his solemn mood out the door and letting his exuberant nature take over.

As much as Cloud really didn't want to drop the subject of Nightcrawlers and humans coexisting together, he figured he'd let it slide and bring it back up at a later time. The ravenette broke away from the blonde's side and stood further into the rotting playground where a nice open clearing lay.

"So, we'll be coming here every afternoon after school and work on your training." The Shapeshifter stated as he gestured to the playground forever frozen in a decaying state.

"_Every _afternoon?" Cloud gawked.

"Do you wanna let Deepground pummel you and put you in the hospital?" Zack responded, loosing all humor as his tone shifted to become suddenly serious.

"Mm, no." He responded with barely a voice, eyes turned downcast to stare at his flame-printed tennis shoes.

"Then we'll be here every afternoon." The ravenette finalized with a nod of his head.

"Alright..." The blonde drawled without energy.

Coming here every single day was going to be exhausting. Did he mean no matter the weather or if he was sick or not? He finally pulled his eyes away from his shoes and looked towards his contractor. His perky black ears twitched in a faint breeze that blew past. It made the broken chains of the swing set creak and groan. This place felt like an abandoned amusement park. Just picturing children here laughing and playing unsettled the blonde. This place itself was supposed to be a taboo, but knowing this was here just proved him wrong.

What were they trying to hide?

"Pay attention!" Zack suddenly exclaimed.

As Cloud broke out of his stare, a fist connected to his gut. The blonde wheezed and gasped, trying to regain the precious air that had been stolen from him. Did Zack just punch him in the gut? Yes, yes he did. Cloud staggered back and curled his arms around his gut, looking at the Nightcrawler in shock and half anger.

"You only learn through experience. Any injuries I give you I'll patch up myself, now focus!" The ravenette growled, ears flattening to his head.

Now it was time to be serious.

* * *

Cloud could only last through the first phase of training before asking to call it quits for the evening. The first phase only lasted fifteen minutes. He was panting for air and hunched over, hands on his knees to support his slouched frame. Bruises littered his arms and he knew his gut was going to be aching for weeks.

He had a few deep scrapes across his face that drew blood underneath his right eye and above his left eyebrow. Zack however, was standing tall and twitching his ears, completely unphased. He still had his battle-hardened glare on his face, but softened it up as he approached his Master.

"Not bad for day one, although I think you took more punches than you threw, but you'll get there." Zack said with a big grin as he roughly patted the blonde's back.

"I think you enjoyed beating me senseless!" Cloud accused as he brought his head up to look straight into the eyes of the Tasonosenshi.

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't?" The ravenette softly muttered against his left ear as his claw-like fingers gently traces each injury and each cut or bruise on his body, sealing up the bloody cuts and making the light brown splotches disappear with ease.

"Not really..." The blonde uttered back, feeling that stupid blush sweep across his cheeks again from the hot breath ghosting around the shell of his ear.

"I figured so." Zack responded with a gentle hum as his dark magic vanquished each injury on the younger teen's body.

Cloud felt his strength returning as his contractor patched him back up again. He was able to fully stand up straight on his feet as he stretched his arms over his head. He was still a bit sore, but that would fade in due time. Evening slowly started creeping through the dead trees to light up the desolate forest in a fiery yellow-orange light. If he didn't get home soon, his mother would probably throw another fit and think he got beat up again. He did in all technicality, but she wouldn't know that.

"Shall we go?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, before mom starts worrying."

"Alright, let me remove these clothes so I do not ruin them in my transformation."

Cloud squawked and quickly turned his body around, blushing fiercely as the image of his shirtless contractor came back to him from earlier this morning. He heard Zack deeply chuckle and he could hear the rustling noises of the fabric being bunched up and taken off. The blonde rocked back and forth on his heels, trying to keep his mind occupied from those thoughts as his hands locked behind his back.

The ravenette just began to gently hum a tune as he changed out of the clothes, occasionally pausing to glance at the blonde just a few feet ahead of him. The teen was completely nervous, he could just feel it radiating off him like summer heat. A devious grin spread across his face slowly and smoothly like a knife over warmed butter. After completely stripping of the clothing and folding it up so it would not become wrinkled, he made his way to the blonde.

He paused right behind him, pressing his body against the blonde as he leaned his face in and whispered "I'm finished now." In his ear.

His grin grew in delight when the blonde tensed and he could feel the heat of his blush seep off the back of his neck. He didn't know why he had so much fun riling up the teenager, but he did. It was fun to watch him squirm, stutter, and blush.

"a-Are you f-fucking naked!?" Cloud chattered through his teeth as if he had been cold, his face turning beet red.

"Why? Wanna turn around and find out?" The ravenette seductively purred against his ear.

"**No I don't! I was just asking a question, a perfectly honest, normal question! Is it illegal to ask if you're naked or not? You know this could be chalked on as public indecency!**" Cloud sputtered like a dying car engine, beginning to ramble like he did whenever he was nervous.

Zack laughed against his ear, happy to know he succeeded in getting the younger teen to stammer and spew out random words. Feeling satisfied, he reached his arm over and let the clothes dangle in front of the blonde's face. Said blonde eagerly snatched up the clothes and stuffed them into his messenger bag, handing the ravenette's old ones back to him as he pulled his body away from the Tasonosenshi's own.

The ravenette made quick work of changing back into his old and comfortable clothes, not having to be as delicate as before. As soon as he finished changing he told the blonde it was okay to look. The teen did a quick glance-behind just to make sure he was really telling the truth. When the blonde realized he was, he turned his whole body around and tried to smack the bright red blush of his face with his hands.

Without further wait, Zack started the transmogrification into his natural wolf form, hunching down on his hands and knees as his spinal structure began to alter once more.

The bone popping and spinal alteration always got to Cloud and had him cringe and look away. It just sounded so gross and painful that he couldn't stand to look. It wasn't until he left the large and warm furry body rub against his leg and release a growl that sounded more like a cat's purr that he looked down.

The ravenette was now completely in his wolf form and was wagging his tail as his bright blue eyes gazed into the blonde's own.

"Alright, let's head back." Cloud said.

That's all it took to get Zack to lead the way out of the forest. But before the blonde left, he took one last glance at the playground that was now behind him. He was going to learn the truth eventually, even if he had to beat it out of the Nightcrawler himself.

* * *

A/N: And here's where I'll be stopping for now! I know it was pretty short, but I figured this would be a good stopping point. :)

Well, leave me some feedback to let me know what you thought of the chappie! Until then, see you in the next chapter!

Toodles!  
~Zimithrus1


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